Stuck On You
By: General Quistis (generalquistis@yahoo.com)
Disclaimer: I don't own the Squaresoft characters… I own my brain, this story plot and myself.
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FOUR: Accusations
Reeve was seated at the head of the table, staring into empty space. He made some chicken noodle soup for dinner and it was steaming hot. When he heard some footsteps coming closer, he turned to the doorway and smiled gently at Scarlet. "Good evening, Scarlet. You look famished." He said.
Actually, she looked messed-up. Her hair was very messy and she was sweaty and her make-up was already beginning to smudge. She was also panting and she was carrying one shoe with her left hand. "Why are you so calm?" she demanded.
"I'm trying to be calm because there's no other way but to just stay here." He told her.
She sat down to his right with a deep frown on her face.
"And I'm also trying to be calm so that if you're the first one to go insane, there's still going to be someone here who can take care of you." He said with a smile on his face as he poured himself some wine.
"Kyahaha… very funny, Reeve," Scarlet snapped before she grabbed her spoon and started to eat frustratingly.
"So, did you find any possible exit?" he asked.
"The chimney's the only thing available but unfortunately, the room where that chimney is located is locked!" she declared. She leaned backward. "Gee, this is good. Did you cook this or you used the soup from the can?" she asked.
"I cooked it by myself." He said proudly before starting to eat.
"Kyahahahaha! Really now? I don't believe you…" she started.
"Believe it. You can look at the chopping board in the kitchen and check out the knives and the forks… you can also take a look at the trashcan to see if there are empty soup cans there. You won't find any." He told her before drinking.
Scarlet ignored him and just stopped eating. "I suddenly lost my appetite," she muttered glumly as she leaned back on her chair.
"Why, anything wrong?" he asked with a concerned tone as he turned to her.
She scanned Reeve's face and shook her head in disbelief. "Who wouldn't lose her appetite when she's stuck in a hell house like this with a nasty man? Kya~h!" she said before covering her face with her hands in an attempt to make herself shut up because of her misery.
Reeve just stared at her but he made a face before looking away. "Scarlet, if I'm a nasty man, I wouldn't cook dinner for the two of us, I'll just make one for myself," he told her before starting to eat.
Scarlet removed her hands from her face and sneered at him. "I was just using a figure of speech, okay?" she muttered.
Reeve stopped and laughed. "Okay, I get it! You're already beginning to feel restless and you want a man to satisfy your needs? Someone who isn't me, right? Hahahahahahaha!!!" he pointed out as he continued to laugh.
Scarlet narrowed her eyes at him; suddenly, she could feel her blood boiling. "I don't know what it is with you men that always seem to make me feel like I'm some kind of whore whatsoever!" she snapped angrily as she sat up straight and pounded on the table. It made Reeve stop laughing and just smile slyly at her. "Are you?" he asked with a low voice.
Scarlet groaned and rolled her eyes in annoyance as she slouched and sighed miserably. "It's the way I dress, right?" she demanded.
"Hmm…not really," Reeve told her.
"Then what?!" she demanded.
"Everything about you. You should hear all the men in ShinRa talking about you." He said before proceeding to eat.
She stared at him and suddenly, she wanted to cry. "And I'm sure you and President Rufus also talked about me that way?" she asked softly, hearing her own voice falter.
Reeve stopped and looked at her. "I don't know about President Rufus, but me? I don't." he said honestly.
She shook her head in disbelief before standing up. "Kyah! This is ridiculous! You accuse me of being a whore and then now you're telling me that you don't talk about me that way?" she demanded angrily.
"Scarlet, I wasn't accusing you of anything!" he snapped, his eyes widening in confusion.
"Kyahahahaha! That's what you and the others always say. Not accusing Scarlet of anything while you and the others come near me asking… asking how much it'd cost them if I… if I spend the night with them! Oh my God, Kyah! That is so disgusting!" she wailed before walking out of the room.
Reeve froze for a moment before he sighed heavily. "Someone's gotta talk to that girl…" he muttered glumly before proceeding to eat; however, as he was finishing his meal, he couldn't stop thinking about Scarlet and what she had told him that night.
Sure, everyone at ShinRa considered her to be some slut whatsoever, but he did not really have the intention to believe the whole of it since he did not really encounter such incidents about her seducing all the men in ShinRa even Rufus's father. "If she seduces everyone at ShinRa, how come I wasn't one of them? Therefore, those are just rumors…" he thought with a shrug before taking a sip of wine. He chuckled lightly. "It's funny how people can judge one another just because of the way they dress… maybe if she dressed up like Elena, they wouldn't accuse her of such thing as being a slut… Poor Miss Lockheart also suffered that way, I guess… Scarlet judged her and called her a slut because of her old clothes… funny how people can call other people names when they don't understand them…" Reeve said softly while staring at the wineglass as if talking to it.
He did not even know that Scarlet was just standing outside by the door of the dining area, feeling sorry for herself and for Tifa. "Kyah… my life is full of shit…" she thought miserably as she walked away, going upstairs. She did not care which room she just barged in to, but she let herself collapse on the bed and started crying her eyes out…
