The Last Traces of Childhood
A very special thanks to: everyone who reads my stories (you're great fans!), and to one of my best friends, Ryan Scheller, for helping me write all that break-dancing stuff (^_^).
Chapter 6 - The Second Encounter
Dear Diary,
Well, it turns out, my talk with Yuffie wasn't a very long conversation after all! For some reason, I didn't tell her about Cloud and I being boyfriend and girlfriend yetoh well, she found out later, so it doesn't matter anymore. She discovered our new status when the four of us got together on Sunday for our little outing, since she claimed that Cloud and I were being all, "lovey-dovey," Of course, Yuffie called me later that night and begged for details We hung out around Midgar Academy and also went to the park here. Cloud and I got a special spot of our own at this park, teehee Anyway, Tifa's been a real pain since Monday, when we all went back to school. Oh yeah, and the countdown is beginning - only six weeks until school is out! I'll miss Yuffie and Vincent in the summertime; I won't be able to see them very much, since they both live down in Junon Harbor. At least we still have a month and a half together Hey, guess what? I went to my first dance at this school! It was on Friday, and it lasted till midnight, just like my old school. Cloud and I had a great time, except for the Tifa scenario we had to go through
A slender, petite figure with a cheerful expression on her face looked back at the teenager. Aeris smiled at her elegant midnight blue dress, the thin straps loosely encircling her arms. She fluffed her neatly braided auburn hair and gently parted the long bangs to each side of her face. The scholar lightly smoothed out the small wrinkles on her silky gown and slipped on her low-heeled, violet dress shoes. She wrapped a light blue shawl around her outfit, and prepared to leave from her current location.
"Aeris, sweetie!" Her mother, Ifalna, called from downstairs. "Cloud's here!"
The flower girl grinned and checked herself once more in the mirror, then clicked off the light in her room and left, closing the door behind her on the way out. She walked down the stairs as quickly as she could, and met her mother at the bottom.
"Hi honey," Ifalna greeted, giving her daughter a warm hug. "Ready for the dance?"
"Yeah!" Aeris answered enthusiastically.
"Have fun, okay?" Her mom leaned next to her ear and whispered. "Cloud's at the door."
"Thanks, Mom." The teenage girl said and went to the door, Ifalna following behind her.
"Hi Cloud," Aeris waved timidly when she saw her boyfriend. His neat blonde hair was still pointy; the tips just a bit droopy, due to the slightly humid weather. Cloud was clothed in a pair of black slacks and a nice blue polo shirt, a dark brown jacket wrapped around his shoulders.
"Hey Rissy," He replied, and then blushed slightly. "Whoa, you look great"
She giggled. "Thanks." Aeris stepped up to Cloud and held out her hand. "Shall we?"
Cloud smiled. "Of course!"
"Be careful now, sweetie." Ifalna warned, looking at Aeris in a motherly protective way. "Cloud, you take good care of my daughter, alright?"
"Mo-om!" Her daughter protested.
"I will, Mrs. Gainsborough." The teenage boy assured her.
"Bye Mom!" Aeris called as she and Cloud starting walking away. "See you in a couple of hours!"
The teenage girl's mouth dropped open in surprise when she saw a red convertible sitting in her driveway. Her boyfriend opened the passenger door of the car for her, and waved a hand toward the seat.
"My lady?" Cloud said with a boyish grin.
"Cloud, how'd you get a car?!" She exclaimed.
"My parents got it for me this last weekend as a late birthday present," He said sheepishly. "Sorry I didn't tell you about it, but you are the first of all my friends to know about me getting a car"
"Oh, I don't mind!" Aeris assured him. "I'm just a little surprisedI've been to Driver's Ed, but haven't gotten my license yet"
"You're usually allowed to when you turn seventeen; I'm taking Driver's Ed as my elective class at school," He replied and gave her a light kiss on the forehead when she ducked her head down and sat into her seat. She buckled her seatbelt as Cloud shut the door and went over to the other side of the vehicle, getting into the driver's seat.
"Oh? You just turned seventeen?" His girlfriend questioned once he was inside the car.
"Yeah, May 19th." He answered.
She giggled. "I'm February 8th."
"Ah, you're only three months older than me," Cloud said with a grin.
"It doesn't really matter, age doesn't matter in lov-" Aeris remarked, then covered her mouth when she realized what she had almost said to him.
Her boyfriend blushed. "Um, should we get going?"
"Uh huh," She replied.
"You look really gorgeous, by the way," Cloud told her as he stuck his keys into the ignition and started up the engine; his face was still a light shade of pink. "Dark blue goes nice with your eyes."
"Thanks," She said, flushing slightly.
Cloud drove to Midgar Academy, the couple staying quiet. Aeris silently scolded herself for practically blurting out the "L" word, and her boyfriend wondered if she really loved him. Inwardly, they both breathed a sigh of relief when the sight of their school appeared into view, and Cloud parked his car in the lot. He got out of his seat, and opened the door for Aeris.
"You're such a gentleman." She teased.
"Only around you," He replied with a grin, and held out his arm. "Let's go inside."
"I wonder if Yuffie and Vincent are here yet?" The teenage girl pondered, looking around the lot for her friends.
"They should be; the doors are gonna close in about five minutes," Cloud informed her.
The two reached the entrance to the dance room, and Aeris glanced behind her for any signs of her friends, before letting her boyfriend lead her inside the building to the gym room, which had been transformed into a dancing room for special events and occasions.
A few people in the hallway greeted Cloud, then turned their faces to his new girlfriend afterwards. Going out with the most popular guy in school had really gotten people to notice Aeris, although she preferred not to get that much attention. She also didn't like the dirty looks she'd sometimes received from other jealous girls. Upon reaching the room, a crowd of their schoolmates clapped and cheered for the arrival of the couple, Aeris ducking her head bashfully at all the attention.
The teenage girl looked up after the noise had quieted, and gasped in wonder at the beautiful, glittering ball that was hanging overhead the dance floor. Various lights flashed across the ceiling and walls, enveloping the pitch-black room with color. White stars were taped all over the place, and green-clothed tables lined up against a wall, cans of soda set on them. Music boomed from the DJ's record player; a sign that read: "Final Spring Fling", was plastered over the disc jockey on stage.
This looks pretty nice for just a normal dance She thought to herself. Different from back at Icicle High
"Cute theme," Cloud commented after reading the sign.
His girlfriend grinned. "Yeah"
"Aeris!!" A voice shouted from behind the couple. Aeris turned around, and expectantly saw Yuffie quickly rushing over to her and Cloud, Vincent following behind.
"Hi Yuffie," She greeted.
"Hey Aeris, Cloud!" The energetic teenager exclaimed.
"Nice outfit!" Aeris complimented with a wide grin.
Yuffie grinned and twirled around, showing off her cute dress, the soft crimson material swishing at her knees. Her normally straight black hair was curled at the tips, and a bright red ribbon was tied to the top of her head. She brushed off a small speck of dust from the skirt portion, and adjusted the strap of her purse that stretched diagonally over her shoulder.
"Thanks!" The Oriental girl answered. "'Course, Vince don't look so bad himself!" She winked at her boyfriend, who had his long black hair tied back in a ponytail, and was clad in black windbreakers and a dark blue shirt. He blushed slightly at her remark and smiled faintly.
"Hey, you all!" A voice called from behind the group.
The four of them turned and saw a boy holding a camera up, focusing the lens on them.
"Smile!" The photographer said. The friends obliged, and he snapped a picture. Then he turned to Cloud and Aeris, and commanded, "Now just the co-most popular couple."
Yuffie and Vincent stepped away as the boy stood in front of their friends and took their picture.
"Who's he?" Aeris asked as the photographer scrambled away to take more shots of other student.
"That's Reeve," Yuffie informed. "Lead photographer in the yearbook committee."
"We're gonna be in the yearbook?" Aeris questioned.
Her best friend grinned. "Yeah!"
Aeris started to say something, when a loud cheer coming from a crowd gathered near the entrance of the dance interrupted her. The group reverted their attention to the crowd, and Aeris quickly went over to them, curious to know what was going on. Her friends and boyfriend stayed where they were, and Yuffie rolled her eyes, while Cloud and Vincent stood back impatiently. They all knew what the commotion was about.
"Cloud, maybe you should go get her. Ms. Priss'll probably dig her claws into her if she sees Aeris" Vincent advised quietly to his best friend. Cloud nodded and darted after his girlfriend.
Aeris pushed her way up the front and groaned when she saw why everyone was cheering.
Looks like there's another popular couple besides Cloud and I She thought wearily to herself as her gaze fell upon the couple that had entered the room.
Cid Highwind and his girlfriend, Tifa, stood near the door. The two grinned and waved to the crowd, reveling in all the glory and attention. Tifa tossed her long dark hair back and silenced the crowd by holding up her hand. She and Cid exchanged a long kiss, which was applauded by their scholars, and then the couple parted. Tifa ran off to meet her fellow Queens, her short mini-dress clinging to her body as she dashed off to her group. Her blonde-haired boyfriend yawned unenthusiastically and went over to hang out with his skating gang.
Aeris twitched her nose disapprovingly and felt a hand tug gently on her arm. She turned and saw Cloud; the two walked back to their group.
"Geez, how stupid." She commented to her friends. "Popularity is weird."
Cloud scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Sorry you had to go through the same thing when we first got here"
His girlfriend smiled faintly. "I'm used to it by now. Soo, I guess you're pretty well known with people, huh? The girls especially pay an awful lot of attention to you," Aeris teased lightly.
"Hey, they also do to you, Aeris. They're just not necessarily as nice to you as they are to Cloud, though." Yuffie remarked with a frown. "What a bunch of jealous idiots, huh?"
Her best friend was about to answer, when the room suddenly got quiet as the DJ stopped the music after a fast song had previously been played. She raised a microphone to her lips, grinned and said, "This next one is for all you couples out there." She turned a knob on the record player, and a slow, soothing song started playing out of the speakers.
Yuffie grinned at her friends, then smiled as Vincent shyly asked her to dance. She nodded, and the two went onto the dance floor, Yuffie's short black hair bouncing as she walked.
"So, um" Cloud started awkwardly.
Aeris chuckled, her eyes shining with delight. "You trying to ask me something?" She asked innocently.
"Yeahwould you like to dance?" Her boyfriend questioned, holding out his hand.
"Love to," She answered, then blushed at her choice of words. Ducking her head slightly, she gently placed her hand into his.
Cloud smiled at his girlfriend and led her to the dance floor, stopping next to Yuffie and Vincent. Aeris received a playful wink from her best friend as she slipped her arms around Cloud's neck and he placed his hands around her waist, the couple standing closely to each other. Slowly, they swayed to the song and after a little while, Aeris felt relaxed and she gently leaned her head on Cloud's chest. Her boyfriend smiled lovingly and one of his hands left her waist to rest on her long, silky brown hair.
After the song ended, a fast one came on; all the couples on the floor broke apart and danced separately, moving their body to the beating rhythm. Aeris giggled as some of the guys, including Cloud and Vincent, gathered together and began break-dancing in the middle of the room. The teenage girl and Yuffie grabbed each other's hands, and excitedly dashed over to the circle surrounding their boyfriends and the other boys.
"Ooh, hope they won't hurt themselves" Yuffie whispered to her best friend, her eyes on Vincent.
"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll be okay." Aeris assured her.
The crowd of students clapped when Cloud successfully performed a couple of "body flare" rotations, several girls cheering him on. He caught Aeris' eye and she smiled, mouthing "Be careful" to him. The blonde teenager grinned at her and nodded.
His girlfriend turned back to Yuffie, just as she was glancing nervously at the door. Wondering why she was doing so, Aeris asked, "Yuffie, what are you doing?"
"Keeping an eye out for Principal Wallace," Yuffie answered matter-of-factly.
Her best friend raised an eyebrow. "Forgive me if I sound stupid, but what does Mr. Wallace have to do with anything?"
The Asian girl gave Aeris a worried look. "Break-dancing's not allowed at school, that's why"
"Really?" The flower girl questioned.
"Yeah Principal Wallace and the rest of the staff are afraid that we might get injured," Yuffie told her.
Great Aeris thought sarcastically. Well, I just hope this little event will end soon
The teenage girl proceeded to walk back over to the circle of breakers to watch her boyfriend and the others. She noticed that another small gang, which Yuffie had told her before, was called the TURKs; it included Rufus Shinra, Reno, Rude, Tseng, and his girlfriend, - whom was also the lone female in the group - Elena. They were by the big crowd as well, and starting to break. She saw the senior class president, Rufus, perform a fairly easy "swipe," followed by a "coffee grinder."
Aeris thought to herself, This guy can't break-dance very well She let out a small giggle at her comment.
Next up was Cid, the leader of the skaters; he did a "six-step" moving back and forth across the floor then sprung from his feet landing in a hand stand. He transferred this into a "1990" by removing one hand and spinning himself. Tifa, who was standing nearby Cid, shot a cold glance across the circle when she saw Aeris; the flower girl only shook her head at Tifa's glare. Once Cid pulled back into the circle, Tifa and her Queens, as well as Cid's gang, clapped loudly.
Finally, someone Aeris knew well was up; it was Vincent's turn. Coincidentally, Yuffie walked up to her best friend and asked, "Who's up next?"
Aeris replied in a teasing tone of voice, "Why, it's your boyfriend my dear."
Yuffie gently pushed Aeris out of the way, just in time to see Vince holding all his weight up on his hands and spinning finishing his "UFO". Then, he backed off into the crowd again and with that, Yuffie began clapping and cheering extremely loud. This action drew a lot of attention to her; she blushed slightly and hid behind Aeris.
Aeris laughed slightly at the young girl behind her, then noticed that there were only three breakers left to go: Cid, Vincent, and Cloud. At the thought of her own boyfriend winning the battle, Aeris smiled brightly and blew a kiss to Cloud, who in turn flashed her a smile.
Vincent and Cid went up against each other, proving that they were both equally matched. The black-haired student suddenly did a "back handspring," landing in a "dive crab." Cid muttered curses under his breath at his schoolmate's moves and walked away.
Tifa was lit that Cid had lost. In a very harsh tone, she yelled at him in a low voice, "How could you back out at practically the last person?!!" Cid looked irritated at her scolding, but he lowered his head in shame, and stalked slowly away.
Now it was Cloud and Vincent, the final two competitors. The blonde teenage boy started off with a fairly simple "six-step," into a "swipe". His best friend, as well as his opponent, performed a front flip into a "dive crab," but slipped and fell, scraping his elbow up pretty badly.
Yuffie immediately ran to her boyfriend and hugged him tightly.
"Are you ok?" She asked in a very worried tone.
Vincent flushed a dark crimson red, almost the same color as Yuffie's dress, then replied in his normally calm tone, "I'm fine, just a little scrape."
The Asian girl released her hug and the two walked out of the circle, heading towards the sodas.
Wow, I guess that makes Cloud the winner! A joyous Aeris thought, and then ran up to her boyfriend and threw her arms around his neck.
"Congratulations, Cloud" She whispered into his ear and gave him a rewarding kiss.
The crowd clapped and a few people whistled.
"Strife, Strife, Strife!" A chant rang up.
Unknowing to the couple in the middle, Tifa was glaring at them coolly from a distance. A moment later, Cloud broke away and blushed. He replied, "I didn't do it, we did. It was you being there, rooting for me, which gave me the spirit to keep going" He smiled at Aeris.
The flower girl smiled and released her hug from him, when all of a sudden; Principal Barret Wallace came up to the group, dragging Vincent by his scraped elbow.
"Look at this boy's arm! This is the reason the staff and I didn't want any of you students to break dance! Now, I want you all to mosey somewhere and stop this nonsense!" The principal scolded in a gruff tone.
Everyone replied in a drone, tedious voice, "Yes, Mr. Wallace," and they walked away.
Principal Wallace let Vincent go, and Yuffie ran up to her boyfriend, glaring at the principal as he disappeared into the crowd.
"Damn, old" She started to mutter, but Vincent smiled faintly at her and shook his head briefly.
After all that, the students went back to dancing (the DJ played a slow song, due to previous the excitement). Aeris whispered something in Cloud's ear, and then she left the dance floor and headed to the restroom, while her boyfriend waited by the table of sodas. As the slow song played to the chorus, Cloud felt someone jab his shoulder. Slightly irritated, he turned around and saw Tifa.
"Hey there," She greeted, a lazy smile on her lips. "Wanna dance?"
Cloud took a big step away, feeling uncomfortable, and answered, "No thanks."
A small frown spread over her face. "Why not? Did your precious girlfriend restrict you from dancing with other girls or somethin'?"
"No," He mumbled in an agitated tone. "I'm waiting for Aeris to come out so that we could dance," Cloud's tone turned teasing, "So you see, I'm already reserved for the whole night."
"Hi Cloud, sorry if I kept ya waiting." A cheery voice spoke up from behind. The blonde teenager smiled in relief when he realized the voice belonged to Aeris. She stepped up next to him, and he wrapped an arm around her waist affectionately. Tifa glared at Aeris for the second time that night.
"So, I see that you got poor Cloudy-boy on a leash, Aeris." The leader of the Queens accused coolly.
Aeris glanced at her with a confused expression and asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"He says he won't dance with me because of you." Tifa answered snottily.
"I didn't say that; don't lie, Lockheart." Cloud scowled.
"Then why won't you, hmm?" The dark-haired girl taunted.
"Cuz I don't want to," He answered, matter-of-factly. "Why should I dance with you when I can with Aeris?" The blonde teenager smiled to his left, at his girlfriend.
Tifa glared daggers at Aeris and also narrowed her eyes to small slits. "Bitch!" She hissed as she retreated from the couple.
Hrmp, how rude! Aeris thought, starting to feel a bit upset. Well, at least the second encounter wasn't so bad
"You can easily call Tifa a hundred names worse than 'bitch', and they'd all be true," Cloud said with a boyish grin. His girlfriend smiled at his defense and led him back to the dance floor.
Once the clock struck midnight, the overhead lights turned on, and everyone left the room. Cloud and Aeris found their best friends and waved good-bye to them, then walked out of the dance and into the parking lot. The couple got into Cloud's car, and he drove back to Kalm Town.
"Goodnight Aeris," Cloud said sheepishly, as he walked her to the door of her house.
Aeris looked into his cool blue eyes and smiled softly at him, her auburn brown hair whipping around wildly in the cold night breeze.
"'Night, Cloud." She answered quietly.
Her boyfriend slowly leaned his head down towards Aeris, and brushed his lips gently against hers. The flower girl wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes, wondering to herself why she had waited so long to go out with him.
Cloud reluctantly backed away from the kiss a little while later, and headed back to his car, saying, "See ya on Monday"
Aeris unlocked, and pushed open her door, watching Cloud drive away. She went into the silent house, glad that her parents were asleep. The teenager walked up the stairs and flopped down on her soft bed, looking up at the ceiling. She slowly stood up, walked to her closet, changed out of her dress and into her nightgown.
Aeris flipped the switch off with a small "click", and the light turned off, enveloping her room in darkness. She walked to her bed, closed her eyes, and fell asleep, dreaming of Cloud.
Preview of chapter 7:
Dear Diary,
With only four weeks left until school is out, the pressure's really on! Teachers are grilling us with tests, and counselors have been talking to all of us about graduation requirements and colleges. Sheesh, we knew all that from eighth grade in middle school! Anyway, I got a real surprise at school this Tuesday. After the events that happened at the dance last Friday; I actually thought that things might have calmed down! Unfortunately, my surprise got dear Cloud all riled upand me? I was still revealing in the shock. Whoever knew that particular event would have ever occurred? Oh yeah, Tifa is a really mean witch! I can't believe what she's doing to poor Cid!