YUA: Yes, yes! She's drunk! Mwahaha! But...I've never seen an Al Bhed get drunk, so I don't know what their Endurance is! Heehee!

-

In Your Dreams!

-

"Rikku? You awake?" I check the back seat, and see her sleeping form on the back seat.

"Huh. Still wanna see that movie?"

"Of course!"

"What the hell?!" Her eyes pop open, and she sits straight up.

"But...I...you were...how did you...Ok, have you ever had a drink before?!?!"

"Define 'drink'."

"Alcoholic beverages!"

"Nope."

"You Al Bhed are incredible."

"Abut that movie..."

"What?! You remember that?! But you were drunk!!"

"So? What's being drunk supposed to do?"

"Uh...it's supposed to...well...ugh, nevermind. C'mon, inside."

"Hey, look! There's a light on!"

"WHAT?!?!" I swivel my head, and see the family room light on.

OH DAMN!!

My parents must be up! They are going to be SO pissed...They're gonna wonder why I smell like beer, and wonder the same of Rikku...I'm screwed...

"Something wrong?"

"My parents are up, that's what wrong!"

"What's wrong with that?"

"They're going to wonder why we both smell like beer!" She winces after I finish the sentence.

"Oooo...that is a problem. We can sneak in..." What? Sneak in?

"And what are you proposing?"

"I can pick locks, remember?"

"Um, yeah..."

"Direct me to the nearest window!"

"No, no, see...the windows have different locks than my car doors do."

"Oh...well, might as well bite the bullet."

"Don't say that! You might jinx us! Or, me, rather!"

"Well, what else can we do except go in the door?"

"Uh...fine, fine, let's go..." Y'see? Doesn't it seem like she's calling the shots? She smiles. She probably knows what I'm thinking. She turns, and I follow. We're both sneaking up the walkway, and onto the front porch, being sure to step softly.

"Well, the moment of truth..." I put my key in, and turn the lock. It's so quiet, I can hear the metal gears grinding against each other, working to unlock the door. With a small click, the door becomes loose, and unlocks.

"Careful, now..." The door opens with an agonizing creak, and we both step inside.

"C'mon...upstairs." I close the door, and she's follows me up the stairs.

"Philip? Can I see you for a moment?" Oh crap. Sounds like...

"Yeah dad?"

"Come here."

"Stay here."

"And bring your new girlfriend, too."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Although...

"Doesn't matter. Where were you?"

"Um...a party...at Toree's..." My dad leans forward and I see his nose cringe.

"Alcohol?"

"Um, I can explain..."

"Well, you better do a damn good job of it."

"Ok..." I take a deep breath, and open my mouth to tell him.

"I'm sorry. It was my fault."

"What?! Rikku, what are you talking about?!" What's she doing?!? Although, my dad seems intrigued...

"Rikku, you didn't-"

"I told him to drink. I thought it'd be fun..."

"Rikku, what are you-"

"Are you sure this is the truth?" She nods, while I stand there dumbfounded.

"Young lady, you realize that you're both under age?"

"Yes..."

"Wait, dad. It's not her fault. I don't know what she's doing."

"Oh?"

"No, at the party, she got out of my sight. So I went to get her, but uh...well, Joseph got me to take a drink."

"Ok, now, who's telling the truth?"

"I am." Rikku and I both say this simultaneously.

"THE truth."

"Me." This time, only I talked.

"Alright, you can go, but Philip...you stay."

"Um, dad?

"What?"

"She's staying with us, remember?"

"Hm...that's right...Well, you can go on to whatever room you're staying in. But Philip, you stay." I nod, and Rikku slowly walks upstairs, trying to hide her concern. After she's gone, my dad's face resumes its solemn glare.

"Why were you drinking beer?"

"I'm sorry! Look, Joseph was in my way and wouldn't move unless I took a drink! I really didn't want to!"

"Peer pressure, eh?"

"No, more like 'loss of woman'."

"Don't get smart with me."

"I'm sorry! But she was never at a party before! I didn't want her to get out of my sight!"

"Yeah, real nice. Now, next time this happens, you'll be grounded for God knows how long." Ugh. Dads. Head of the households. Psh. Big deal.

"Get to your room. Now." I mumble darkly as I turn around, my feet shuffling up the stairs. It was only a single drink...Ah, bed. I'm so freakin' tired.

"Tired..." I walk into my room, and put on some pajamas.

"Hi!"

"GAAAHHH!!"

"Hey, hey! Don't yell!"

"What are you doing here?!"

"I'm sleeping here, remember?"

"Oh...right...um, hehe...sorry."

"S'okay."

"I'll...be going now." I turn around, but her voice stops me in my tracks. I think my heart stopped too.

"How 'bout a story?"

"A...story? You ARE fifteen, correct?"

"I mean, like, of stuff."

"Stuff. What kinda 'stuff' do you mean?"

"Like, stuff from this world. I still don't know everything about it."

"You don't want to know everything about it. Trust me."

"Yes, I DO want to know about this place."

"Alright, don't get angry..." I sit on the bed next to her.

"Um, where to start...?" I'm about to start but Rikku interrupts.

"Are you an inventor?"

"What?"

"Do you like to make stuff?"

"Um, sorta. I've got ideas, but I really don't think...ah, well...they're a bit far-fetched."

"So?"

"I don't they'll work..."

"Now, if you talk like that, they definitely won't work."

"Well, you haven't seen them yet."

"I'll take a look tomorrow. But first, tell me about this place."

"Well, Earth is covered in ocean. About, um...65 percent or something like that."

"Much like Spira, then?"

"I guess so. This place, America, is where we are right now. There are thousands of different cultures in this world. That's what I was talking about before. There's Japanese, English, German, Chinese, Australian, Norwegian, plus a whole lot of others."

"Do you all get along?"

"Um..."

"Let me rephrase that. Do you have any wars?"

"Oh yeah. Lots."

"What happened?"

"Well, one we're fighting one right now. Over in another country. Except we've pretty much won. There are some people in this world that aren't very...er, considerate. They steal, cheat, lie, anything to make them more powerful."

"Oh..."

"But this place is orderly. We don't have wars breaking out within our own country. Not anymore. Today, we...sort of get along. We all depend on each other for trade, technology, work, things like that."

"So, things turned out ok?"

"But someone can ruin in all very quickly...Is that enough for one night? I'm tired."

"Yeah, ok."

"Get some rest. We can visit more places tomorrow." She slides under the covers, and I walk out, softly closing the door. I can't believe it. A girl...from Spira...a videogame...is staying with me...in my house...man, can it get any better? I think not.

-

YUA: I liked this chapter...showing the darker side of mankind. I always like bashing mankind! Mwehehehe...who doesn't?