You Were Mine
Chapter 9
Two's Company
"Somebody tell my head to try to tell my heart,
That I'm better off, without you
Cuz baby I can't live…
And without you I'm not okay
And without you I've lost my way
My heart's stuck in second place, oo
Without you
Without you."
A few hours later, Tidus was out of jail. Yuna waited for him in the lobby of the station, and watched him put his jewelry objects on, the necklace that was his trademark going on last. She still wanted to be with him so badly…even though she'd accepted that he'd moved on. She expected to almost feel relieved when she heard Lindsay went missing…but she felt nothing but worry and stress for Tidus. He needed her, and she saw that.
After grabbing his belongings and getting dressed in his normal clothes, he moved to where she was in the room, a smile creeping on his lips. She anticipated him to just stride up to her and walk out with her, but instead, he wrapped his arms tightly around her. A feeling of warmth swept over her, and she blushed deeply. "Thank you," he whispered in her ear. "I don't know what I would've done without you."
She felt her eyes tearing up, but she refused to let them go. She held them back, unwilling to show the emotions she was feeling as he held her. He released her from his embrace, the smile still on his face.
"Hey, after all the times you were there for me," she replied, fighting the lump in her throat, "I thought I'd return the favor."
He nodded, but said nothing more. They left the station, to his gladness, and headed for Yuna's car. She got in the driver's seat, but didn't start it.
"So explain yourself," she said simply, looking over at him. "Why'd they throw you in jail?"
He didn't meet her gaze, and stared out the window. "I pulled up to the grocery store and saw all of them there: police cars, officers, and her boss standing outside. I asked them where she was, and when they told me she was missing, I just…snapped. I went in and started yelling like a nutcase for her. A few officers tried to pull me back, and apparently I got a little violent."
"With the officers? What'd you do?"
"I gave one a bloody nose, and the other a broken wrist. My lawyer said I almost split it in half."
Her eyes widened, and she almost felt proud of him. How could that be the right thing to feel "Tidus, I never knew you had it in you!" she exclaimed, lightening the mood.
He laughed aloud for the first time in what felt like decades. He flexed his arms, causing them both to go into more laughter. When they were serious again, Yuna started the engine.
"But let's not dwell on that. Any ideas on who might've taken Lindsay?"
He frowned, and shook his head. "Not a clue. The only thing I can come up with is some pervert looking for a good time and a ransom."
She pulled out of the parking lot, watching for oncoming cars. "Nothing other than that?"
"We've been here for three days, Yuna. Do you really think we could've made that much of an impression in that amount of time? I can't see how anyone would've had the time to plan this out and know Lindsay's whereabouts to do this."
"Did she ever mention anyone at the store? Anyone who gave her the creeps or anything like that?"
"I can't remember her saying anything like that. I would've been worried if she did."
"Maybe it was someone she knew before she left Zanarkand."
Tidus froze.
Lindsay drifted in and out of restless sleep, worried she'd be asleep when Tidus came and not be able to scream for him, as she planned to do.
She had sobbed herself to sleep after Kelcie left, and woke up soon after. She heard nothing outside the room, and could only assume Kelcie was waiting for Tidus and nothing more. She was ready to spring on him like a spider on its prey.
Oh, Kelcie, she thought desperately. Why'd you do this? Why'd you do that to your face? You were so sweet…you were my best friend. What happened to you?
She felt like the whole thing was her fault. Although she had no control over disappearing from her friend's life, Tidus was in danger now because of her. Closing her eyes in the darkness, she remembered very clearly the day she vanished from the world she knew…
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"Kelc! Have you seen my shoes? I really need them if we're going to go play volleyball!"
She stood in her room, looking into her closet and wondering where they could be. She and Kelcie Slade had been invited to play volleyball with a few friends at the Rec Center, and she was running out of time. She left the room, and stopped abruptly when she went face-to-face with a grinning Kelcie. She was holding the shoes she was looking for, amusement twinkling in her aqua colored eyes.
"Looking for these?" she asked with a giggle. Lindsay gave a, 'Ha, ha, very funny,' look, and reached out to grab them. When she tried to, she gasped.
Her hands went right through them.
Kelcie's smile faded away quickly, to a look of alarm and bewilderment. "What the hell…? What just happened, Lindz?"
She was just as shocked as the girl in front of her, staring at her hands in wonder. She shook her head, unable to speak at all, at least in comprehensible sentences.
She snatched for them again, getting the same result. Kelcie dropped the shoes to the floor, her eyes never leaving Lindsay. She stretched to touch Lindsay, and sliced through the air, giving a little yelp as it did so. With every passing moment, Lindsay became more and more like a hologram.
Both of their breathing patters increased considerably, neither knowing what was happening. The world around her was fading fast, the form of Kelcie being left behind. Tears began to well in her fast evaporating eyes, and she extended her hand in a futile attempt to hold on to the only thing she saw before her. She could feel the wetness fall down her cheeks, even though to Kelcie they seemed almost non-existent.
"Lindz, don't leave me. Don't leave me here alone, Lindsay Krycek. You can't go away!" Kelcie was almost in hysterics, tears running down her face as well.
Lindsay closed her eyes, biting on her lip. Her heart twisted to see her friend that way and hear her desperate calls, but there was nothing she could o. it was time to say goodbye to the best friend she ever knew. She felt like she was dying, having to say farewell like this. And maybe she was, she had no idea.
"I…I'll always be with you, Kelc. I don't know what else to say. Wherever I'm going, I know I'll never forget you, okay? I…love you always. You were like my sister."
Kelcie shook her head vigorously in denial, still crying. "No, no, you need to stay right here! I need you Lindsay, I need you…"
"I'll always be with you…I always said that. I love ya, Kelc."
With that, she left entirely. No residue was left, no trace of a human being once standing there. Kelcie sunk to her knees, hugging herself and sniffling. "I love you too, she whispered to the silence, sobbing into the floor. One last flash came through of Lindsay's body that Kelcie didn't see, and she was gone.
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Lindsay sighed as she came out of the memory. Seeing Kelcie that way tore her apart, and left a haunting image with her while she was in Zanarkand. She wondered what Kelcie had done after she was gone, if that's when she had scarred her face, or if she had called someone to see if she could find out what had happened to her. As if on cue to her thoughts, the door squeaked open, and in came the girl who was in the memories she'd been visiting. She noticed that this girl didn't have the same twinkle in her eye she used to see, that they were empty instead of full of the vigor she once had, and dull instead of the stunning aqua color they once held. She didn't even recognize the woman she once shared an apartment with.
"How's it goin, Lindz? Had some time to yourself? Your little boy hasn't shown up yet. I would think he'd have figured it out by now. What've you been doing with your time alone in here?"
Lindsay looked up at the shining light in the doorway, and watched as Kelcie closed it behind her. She looked back down at the creamy floor, staring at the charm bracelet that still rested beside her. It was once a symbol of their undying friendship, always on her wrist, always present as a reminder. Now it was like a reminder that Tidus could die, all because of her. She couldn't stand to look at it anymore. She tore her eyes away from it, and back to Kelcie.
"What did you do after I disappeared, Kelcie? Is that when you hurt yourself?" she asked the question innocently, her tone merely curious and wondering. Kelcie seemed surprised by the inquiry.
"You really want to know? Why?"
Lindsay shrugged, saying, "I was just thinking about what happened that day I left. How upset you were…I just want to know what happened afterward that I didn't see. What drove you to doing that to yourself."
Kelcie took a seat in a nearby chair, obviously getting ready for a long explanation. "I didn't have a clue as to what I should do, really. My best friend had just vanished into thin air in front of my eyes. I sat there bawling like a baby for an hour or so, part of me probably wishing you'd reappear like magic. But the other part knew you were gone for good, and I hated it. I had no clue what to do next. The logic side of me said you were dead…some kind of spontaneous combustion thing without the fire." She giggled at the thought.
"I had no one to contact…no one who would believe me, anyway. Couldn't call the police, I mean, what would I have told them? 'Hi, my friend just disappeared into thin air, can you do something about that?'" Again, she laughed at her own humor. "No, I didn't think so. I couldn't decide what to do with myself. So, the part of me still thinking you were dead took over. A depression set in like a flame bursting inside of me. I decided if you were gone, I'd be gone with you. Remember that Army Knife we had for protection?"
Lindsay clamped her eyes closed and put her face to the side like she'd been slapped. "Oh God, Kelcie…""I was determined to scratch myself out of the world, like you'd seemed to do. But I lost too much blood before I could finish the job, and passed out. If Dayna hadn't come to pick us up I would've happily been able to bleed to death. They said about ten minutes longer and I would've gotten what I wanted. I think I've always held some resentment for Dayna because of it."
Lindsay felt the urge to throw up. She never thought someone would make a suicide attempt for her. I'm sorry I asked, she thought silently. How could she have done that to herself?
"So why are you doing this now? It's not my fault I was sent to the Dream World. Shouldn't you be happy I'm back?"
Kelcie's face, for the first time since Lindsay had seen her again, showed compassion. Her eyes lost the dull feature, and turned soft. Lindsay even thought they looked slightly moist, but that flashed away with a few bats of her eyelashes. "You think I'm not happy you're back?" the first question was soft, but the next was much louder. "You think I'm not ecstatic!?"
Lindsay flinched a little at the outburst, giving her captor a cold stare. "Well, most normal people would are happy to see their friends go out to dinner, or have coffee, invite each other over. No, you decided to kidnap me!"
Kelcie's face didn't change. "But that just shows how happy I was to find you. It was impulse…I just didn't know how to express it any other way. But now that I've had time to think about it, I know exactly what I'm going to do." Getting up from her seat, she stared down at Lindsay.
"I expect Tidus will be along soon. We must be ready for him, right?"
Lindsay brow creased. When did she tell Kelcie Tidus's name? As far as she knew, she hadn't. "How did you…?" she started, but was cut off.
"Please," Kelcie retorted, "with all the times you called out that name in your sleep, you think I wouldn't pick up that he just might be your boy?"
Dammit, Lindsay though with a vengeance. Tidus, please stay away… But she knew hoping that hope was probably futile. He was the type to go in without entirely thinking the consequences through, but always wanting to be the hero.
"Why do you have to involve him? You don't even know him. I'm the one you want…aren't I?"
"Because he'll be coming after you, of course. We can't have him messing up our plans, can we? No, we'll use him to our advantage. We'll use him to get to you, and we'll use him for our enjoyment. How does that sound?"
"You're nuts," Lindsay spat, aggravated to a boiling point. "I can't believe we were ever best friends."
Kelcie made a striking motion over her heart to feign wounding, and leaned back a little. "Ouch, that one burned. Just remember, Lindz, I wasn't this way before you disappeared. We could've prevented all of this if you'd stayed put. Hell, Tidus could've lived a great life with you! But now I guess we'll never know," she closed the room to the door quietly, "will we?"
Author's Notes: Hey all, 32 reviews now! Yay! Glad you like it, at least for the most part. Just be patient with all the Tidus/Yuna stuff, I can't emphasize it enough. It'll work out your way eventually, and it'll make all of you happy, I promise. I hope this gave you enough Tidus/Yuna action, and thanks to the reviewer Merc Wanderer for his comments on FFX. I told you before I know nothing about FFX, and that I'm writing this for a friend, so if I screw up on the technology and stuff, remember that, okay? Thank you though for pointing it out. SFRB, thanks for the continued reviews letting me know what you think of my story, but I'm afraid your request to kill Lindsay has been declined, lol, you'll see what I do with it, I already have it planned out. And to Marialana, thanks so much for the suggestion, it gave me inspiration. Keep reading, all, and review like you good people always do! Until the next chapter!