Love is Like a Rose - Chapter 8: Girl Talk
Yuffie made her way through the crowd that normally gathered in the courtyard every morning. She sighed inwardly as she inched along at an agonizingly slow pace. If she hadn't slept in, she wouldn't be stuck in this traffic. Cid was going to kill her if she didn't finish the library roof today.
"Sorry, could you please move a little faster?" Yuffie asked the balding man in front of her who was shuffling forward at the speed of a snail with a walker. He barely came up to her shoulders. "I'm in a bit of a hurry--"
"Young'ns these days," the old man cut her off with a scowl. "Always in a hurry to grow up."
Yuffie narrowed her eyes and pushed past the old man. She hoped he fell and broke a hip. "Sorry...excuse me, pardon…outta the way…" she growled as she elbowed various people. She was almost out of the crowd when something hit the back of her head. Tiny little stars exploded before her eyes, and Yuffie fell to her hands and knees. "Ouch," she muttered, shaking her head to clear it.
"Are you all right?" a gruff voice came from behind her. Yuffie felt a strong pair of hands grip her upper arm and haul her to her feet. She was dimly aware of someone dragging her out of the crowded courtyard.
"Make it stop spinning, and I'll be fine," Yuffie said a bit sourly, her eyes scrunched up with pain. She reached up and gingerly rubbed the back of her head. She opened her eyes and saw Leon standing in front of her, still gripping her arm tightly. "Is it just me or was the courtyard more crowded than usual?"
Leon let go of her arm and took out a carefully folded paper from his pocket. "It might have something to do with this," he answered, handing her the paper.
Yuffie took it and unfolded it, letting her eyes scan the calligraphic, swirly letters.
'Squall Leonhart,
You and a guest are cordially invited to the 33rd Annual Ball held in the Grand Hall this Saturday at 7:00PM. Elegant attire is required.'
A frown creased Yuffie's forehead. "Hey, how come I wasn't invited?" Yuffie wondered, handing the invitation back to Leon.
"Thought you hated balls," Leon replied.
"I did as a kid. All they let me do was sit around and make small talk with the other snotty little rich kids. I wasn't allowed to dance or anything," Yuffie admitted. "Being still for three hours straight in a hot constricting dress isn't anyone's idea of fun."
"Do you really want to go?"
"Yeah, I do. So I have to wear a frilly dress for a couple of hours. Dancing, and music…it looks fun."
"Okay."
Yuffie's eyebrows shot up in confusion. "Okay what?"
"You can be my escort," Leon said as if he were stating the obvious.
Yuffie blinked several times before registering the fact that Leon had "asked" her to the ball. She fought the red that threatened to creep up her neck. "Oh." What else was she was supposed to say? Yuffie met Leon's eyes and smiled. "Um, thanks. I'd be glad to go with you." Yuffie sure hoped she wasn't dreaming.
Leon shrugged. "Sure."
"See you around lunch. I have some work in the library to finish," Yuffie said, walking away as quickly as possible without running. The second she'd rounded the corner, Yuffie let out a squeal. She was going on a date with Leon! Ignoring the stares of the others in the hall, she floated the rest of the way to the library. Her feet hardly touched the floor.
Yuffie carefully lowered herself down the ladder, humming happily.
"What gives you the right to be so sickeningly happy?" Cid asked curiously as she watched Yuffie bounce around perkily. Just yesterday he could barely get a response out of her.
"Sorry Cid," Yuffie apologized, putting the tools in the toolbox. "Even you can't ruin my good mood."
"What are you smoking, kid?" Cid asked. "Did you nick another one of my cigarettes? Or did you break into the wine cellar again?"
"I only took a cigarette once!" Yuffie protested. "You said it cleared your thoughts. Besides, I was only eight at the time."
"You landed yourself in the Hospital Wing for two days. They thought you were suffering from smoke inhalation," Cid remarked.
"And I snuck into the wine cellar on a dare. I didn't drink anything," Yuffie finished as if she hadn't heard him. "Besides, what's wrong with me being happy? I'm always like this, aren't I?"
Cid scoffed. "Just a few days ago, you were breeding depression wherever the hell you went!"
Yuffie stuck out her tongue at him. "Hey, did you get an invitation for the ball?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"I didn't," Yuffie said with a pout.
"They probably remembered the time you poured punch all over the expensive white tablecloth," Cid reminisced with a smile.
"I meant to get that snotty little kid sitting across from me, all right? I didn't always have the best aim," Yuffie said with a frown.
Cid laughed. "That's an understatement." He wiped his brow. "All right, you can go."
"What? But I haven't finished yet!"
"I'll let you go. You're in no condition to work. You're practically oozing happiness," Cid said with disgust. "I can't work with you like this. Now scram."
Yuffie grinned widely at him. She knew that was Cid speech for, Don't tell anyone, but I'm in a nice mood right now. "Thanks Cid!"
"Yeah, yeah."
"You know, you're not so bad for a cranky old fart."
"Yuffie?"
"Yeah?"
"GET THE HELL OUT!"
Yuffie smirked as she left Cid in the library.
"Aerith, Aerith, Aerith!" Yuffie yelled as she burst through Aerith's bedroom door. Her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed a rather odd shade of magenta. "Whoa!" she exclaimed, shielding her eyes. "My vision will forever be damaged," Yuffie moaned, shaking her head disgustedly as she hurriedly backed out of the room.
"Y-Yuffie!" Aerith gasped. Cloud rolled out of the bed and hit the floor, yanking his pants on in the process. Aerith wrapped the blankets securely around her, her cheeks flaring with embarrassment.
"Haven't you heard of knocking?" Cloud demanded as he dressed hurriedly.
"Haven't you heard of locking the door?" Yuffie shot back, suppressing a shudder. "Is it okay to open my eyes now?"
"What is it?" Aerith asked, running her fingers through her long locks to tame them.
"Uh…" Yuffie looked at Cloud and coughed.
"Fine. I'll leave. I can sense a girl-talk coming on," Cloud sighed. He pulled his shirt over his head, grabbed his cloak and tucked it under his arm, and left the room.
Yuffie burst into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. "The look on your face was priceless!" she chortled.
Aerith turned an even deeper shade of scarlet. "Why did you come bursting in here to begin with?" she changed the subject.
"Oh, that," Yuffie said, a sheepish smile coming to her lips.
"Yeah. 'Oh, that'," Aerith repeated. "Have a seat," she said, patting the bed.
Yuffie's left eye twitched. After what they were doing on it? No thanks! she thought, her stomach churning slightly at the thought. "I think I'll stand, thanks."
Aerith shrugged and stared expectantly at Yuffie. "Well?"
"I'mointothballwiSquall," Yuffie said in a rush. She suddenly found the intricate design in the carpet very fascinating.
Aerith blinked. "What?"
Yuffie took a deep breath and repeated what she said. "I'm going to the ball with Squall."
Aerith hid a smile. "Oh?"
"Yeah. Um, he sorta 'asked' me after saving me from a huge crowd of people," said Yuffie, still staring at the floor.
"'Sorta ask'? How could he 'sorta ask' you to the ball?"
"Well, I complained about not getting an invitation--Cid said it was because of all the trouble I made when I was younger but I don't think that's true--and Leon asked if I really wanted to go and I said yes and he said I could be his escort and now we're going and I don't have anything to wear!" Yuffie finished, meeting Aerith's gaze.
"So the problem is that you don't have anything to wear to the ball and you want to impress Squall."
"I don't want to impress him," Yuffie replied. "Just want to look…acceptable. And hopefully people won't recognize me as the girl who's ruined five balls in the past," she added thoughtfully. "So…will you help me?"
Aerith felt a grin curl at the corners of her lips.
Yuffie gulped. She didn't trust that smile. She didn't trust it anymore she could trust a Heartless. A lead sort of like feeling settled in her stomach. What the hell have I gotten myself into this time?