The Last Traces of Childhood
Chapter 4 - The Incident Following
Dear Diary,
I can't believe what Zack did to me What's the freakin' matter with him? Back at our old school, we were voted the best couple on campus Why is he seeing another girl behind my back?! I, I hate her, whoever she is! But then again, maybe what happened between Zack and I was a blessing in disguise. Am I confusing you? Well, our break-up has freed me, right? Oh, how I wish Yuffie or any of my other friends were here so I could talk to someone! Haha, Yuffie would probably say something like, "Now you can go out with Cloud!" Argh! Oh, Cloud What am I going to do about him? I can't believe what happened, shortly after I got home This is too much for me to handle I've heard this saying, "A good thing always follows after a bad thing." Yeah right! A good thing from who's point of view, hmmm?
Aeris darted out of the park, and she sprinted blindly out of Icicle Inn as well. As far as she was concerned, this little 'visit' was over; she wanted to go home right away. The teenager ran back to the airship, just in time for the next flight back to Kalm. She climbed up the rope ladder, went into the Control Room, and sat down on a chair, sobbing silently throughout the ride.
When the Highwind arrived at Kalm, Aeris rushed to the balcony and hopped down the ladder. She thought about going back to her house, but then her mother and father would wonder why she was back so early, and Aeris really didn't feel like explaining anything at the moment. She wanted to talk to Yuffie, but she did not live in Kalm. Finally, the girl decided to go to her school, where she could have real privacy, piece and quiet
She arrived at school quickly, breathing heavily as she ran the whole way to the high school campus. Aeris went around to the back of the school, and walked to the special spot she, Cloud, Yuffie, and Vincent had sometimes gone to after eating lunch in the cafeteria. As Aeris got closer to the area, she discovered that someone had already occupied it. She frowned in disappointment, and walked foreword to see whom it was.
Surprising to her, Aeris saw Cloud sitting down, his back leaned onto the tree trunk. He was picking up rocks from the ground, and flinging them at the wall in front of him, an emotionless and solemn expression on his face. Aeris started to step back, but stumbled over a tree branch and Cloud's head perked up at the noise. She gasped and apologized, "S-sorry"
"Aeris?" He asked.
"H-hi Cloud" She stammered.
"What are you doing here?!" Cloud demanded; the blonde teenager felt slightly irritated that she had found him.
At the mention of those words, Aeris was reminded of what Zack had said, and her face crumpled up, as tears slowly started to spill down her cheeks. Cloud's eyes widened in surprise and he immediately stood up and ran to her side.
"I'm sorry I yelled" He apologized, feeling guilty.
"I-it's not you" Aeris sobbed and sat down at the spot where Cloud previously had, burying her head into her arms; her friend followed and sat next to her.
"What's wrong, Aeris?" He asked with concern.
When she didn't answer, Cloud gently pried her arms away and looked into her wavering, emerald green eyes.
"Aeris, please tell me why you're crying," He requested.
Aeris whipped the tears away from her eyes and choked out, "Z-Zack"
Cloud's throat tightened at the name. "What about Zack?" He asked stiffly.
"H-he's cheating on me" Aeris informed him as more tears slid down the smooth surface of her already-moist cheeks.
Her friend shushed her gently, then turned her toward him and embraced her quivering body tightly. He laid his head on hers and slowly stroked her hair; an angry glare formed on his face at the thought of the jerk that had hurt Aeris to the point that she would be shedding tears.
That bastard, how dare he treat Aeris like that! Cloud thought furiously, wanting to slug Zack.
"Aeris, can you tell me what happened?" He asked softly.
"I-I went to me and Zack's favorite spot in this park at Icicle Innand I saw himnecking and kissing a-another gi-girl!" She sobbed.
Cloud snarled dangerously. "What a little dirty piece of shit" He murmured quietly.
"Wh-what's going on with him?" Aeris wondered. "W-why would he do this to me?"
"I don't know, Rissy" Her friend whispered in reply.
"S-stupid Zack!" She hissed all of a sudden. "I-I'll never for-forgive him for this!"
The two sat there for a few moments, Cloud waiting as Aeris slowly calmed down and her sobs grew quiet. After a while, she pulled away from him and hugged her knees.
"What's going to happen now?" She asked.
Cloud shrugged helplessly. "I dunno I think you should probably confront him about this"
Aeris shook her head firmly. "No! I don't ever want to speak to that, that rotten cheater!"
"Are you sure about that?" Cloud asked uncertainly.
"If I have to see Zack again, I'm afraid that I'm gonna either slap him, or mutter angry curses" Aeris murmured.
Her friend sighed and shifted uncomfortably. "Aeris, I really think you should at least talk to him-"
She turned to him, her eyes glaring daggers. "I'm not going to speak with Zack!"
Cloud glanced at her, starting to feel a bit frustrated. Damn that frickin' Zack The blonde teenage boy thought angrily. Look what he's doing to Aeris
"It'd be better if you just got it over with-"
"I said NO!" Aeris yelled, interrupting him once more. She stood up and faced the tree. The teenage girl reared her arm back and socked the trunk with her fist. A tiny trail of blood leaked down her knuckles after she pulled her arm away, but she paid to heed to the pain and stood her ground firmly.
"Aeris!!" Cloud shouted and jumped up from his sitting position. "What the hell are you doing?!"
She didn't answer; instead, Aeris thrust her fist foreword to hit the tree again. Cloud reached over and grabbed her forearm, preventing her from connecting with the bark. She frowned at him and tried to wrench herself free of his grasp.
"Hey, let go of my arm!" Aeris ordered angrily.
"No, Rissy! Not until you get a hold of yourself!" He yelled.
The flower girl glared defiantly at him and ignored his last comment. "Let. Me. GO!"
"I said, not until you calm down! Don't hurt yourself like that!" He demanded.
She growled. "What do you care?"
"A lot more than you think," Cloud said.
The female scholar twisted and turned her arm, trying to get away from him. Cloud gritted his teeth in anger, and yanked her roughly toward him. Aeris fell foreword from the impact, straight into his arms. He wrapped his other arm around her back, entrapping her. Cloud brought his face down closely to hers, not stopping until their noses were touching.
"What do you care?!" Aeris repeated. She tried to slip out from his hold, but it was useless; his grip on her was too tight.
Angered by her defiance, Cloud said firmly, "I DO care, Aeris. I care about you, a lot, and I don't want to see you hurt yourself like that!"
Unconvinced, she shook her head and commanded, "Geez, let me go already! Or I'm gonna sue you for assaulting me!"
"I'm not assaulting you, damn it!" Her friend shouted angrily. "I'm trying to help you!"
Cloud growled and leaned down, closing the distance between them. His lips connected harshly with hers, and his feelings for her exploded in the kiss. His anger died down as he loosened his grip on her and allowed one of his hands to softly caress her hair. She tensed up and struggled against him, but then reluctantly succumbed to his embrace and returned the kiss, causing Cloud to groan quietly.
Aeris sighed blissfully when the two broke apart, a dazed look coming over her face. She closed her eyes for a moment and leaned her head back against her friend's supporting arm. Then, remembering her situation, she pulled away from Cloud and glanced at him for a moment, mixed emotions swirling around inside her; he stared back at her, a mournful look in his cool blue eyes.
"Aeris, I-" He started to say.
She shook her head fiercely and turned away from him. A second later, she felt his hand rest comfortingly on her shoulder. At his touch, tears suddenly sprang to her eyes and she threw his hand off of her. The flower girl ran blindly around the corner, to the entrance of the school. She darted toward her house in Kalm town, confused feelings spiraling through her mind and body.
The incident following my break-up with Zack has to be something like this?? She thought with a small sob, and ran faster through the dirt fields, not noticing that light footsteps were following her.
Preview of chapter 5:
Dear Diary,
What the hell did I just do?! I cannot believe that I went so crazy over Zack and his new bitch that I would go as far as draw blood from my own body! That stupid girlfriend of his! Sighwhat about Cloud? What are we going to do aboutus? Us, ha! It's not we're a couple or anything But I can't help thinking, what if Yuffie was right? Well anyway, I don't know how I managed see myself home; I was shedding more tears than the Niagara Falls has water! I'm glad my parents weren't home so I could be by myself Actually, I wasn't alone for longyou'll never believe what happened shortly after I got home Destiny is really unpredictable, isn't it?