Author's Note: Well, here ya go. Chapter two is now officially up and running. Thank you to all the reviewers so far.
Note to BB214kiss: There is College Algebra. Believe me, I know. I've had to suffer through it. It's a lot easier than Calculus *shudders* and you have to take it before Calculus unless you make a high enough score on the math test they give you first. At least, that's how it is where I'm going to college at.
Disclaimer: Do I really need to do this? Okay, I don't own Kingdom Hearts nor the characters in this story unless they happen to be someone I make up. However, I do own Squall when I'm dreaming. That's when I chain him to my bed.
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Chapter Two: Partners or Enemies?
"Beep! Beep! Beep!"
Yuffie jolted awake to the annoying sound of her alarm clock going off at precisely six in the morning. Groaning in protest, she swung her arm around and hit the snooze button. She did this four times before a muffled yell from Kairi's side of the room said, "Get the hell up and turn that damn thing off!"
She groggily raised her head, and glared at the lump that was Kairi. "I don't see you getting up."
Head beneath the pillows, the red-head replied, "That's because I wasn't stupid enough to sign up for an eight o'clock class."
Yuffie rolled out of bed, untangling herself from the sheets as she did, and stumbled to the bathroom for a nice, steamy morning shower to wake her up. Why did I sign up for an eight o'clock biology lab? There were about ten others to choose from ,but no, Yuffie, you just had to sign up for the early one, she thought to herself as the hot water hit her skin. Sighing, she turned the shower off and got out, wrapping herself in her terrycloth robe.
"It's about time you got out of the shower," Kairi grumbled as she pushed past Yuffie into the tiny bathroom.
"I thought you didn't have a class until nine?" Yuffie asked, confused at why her roommate would be up already. Kairi seemed to be the type of person who slept until just a few minutes before class began.
Before shutting the bathroom door in Yuffie's face, she muttered, "Sora's meeting me at eight so we can get some breakfast."
Smiling, the ebony-haired girl nodded knowingly as she reached for the hair-dryer. She's head over heels for the guy. Yuffie didn't know whether to be happy for the girl or worried since they had just met Sora and didn't really know that much about him. Finishing with her hair, she went to her closet and pulled out a pair of khaki shorts and a green halter top. Putting them on, she eyed herself in the mirror. Yeah, I think these look good. She finished the look with a pair of sneakers that had seen better days, choosing comfort over style. I do have a long walk to the class, she reminded herself.
She stole a quick glance to the clock. 7:43. "Shit, I'm going to be late. Again." she muttered to herself as she quickly grabbed her backpack. "I'm going. I'll see ya later," she yelled through the bathroom door to Kairi before she left.
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"Ninety-four, ninety-five, ninety-six." Yuffie wiped the sweat from her brow as she finally reached the fourth floor of the science building, counting the steps as she went. "I still don't see why only the handicapped and the staff can use the damn elevator," she said under her breath.
She pushed through the double doors leading from the stairwell to the corridor lined with the lab rooms. "Room 417. Where is Room 417?" she mumbled as she strolled down the hallway, passing other lost students along the way. "Ah-ha!" she exclaimed when she finally found the room, "And I still have," she looked down at her watch, "2 minutes to spare."
Walking through the doorway, she saw that there were only two seats left in the room: one next to a big blonde guy with bright blue eyes and the other next to the guy who had snubbed her yesterday in the biology class. An evil grin crept spread across her face as she walked over to the brunette and plopped onto the stool next to him.
"The seat's taken," he said, never once looking at her.
"Uh-uh. That's not gonna work today," she quipped, taking a notebook out of her backpack.
He quickly stole a glance at her, blue eyes narrowing in recognition. "Oh, it's you. Look, you have got the wrong guy. I'm not looking for anyone and you're too young for me."
"Oh really? And who said I was interested?" Yuffie huffed, her eyes flaring with rage at the man who presumed to know what she was thinking. She slammed her lab manual down on the counter, then threw her backpack onto the floor, wanting so badly to hit something, mainly the guy sitting next to her.
The teaching assistant, who taught the lab for the professor, came waltzing through the door, carrying a large stack of papers. "Okay, people, I'm you're TA for this lab," he said in a nasal voice. "My name is Robert Siewort, but you will call me Mr. Siewort." He began passing out the forms he had carried in. "Please, fill these out, leaving your lab partner's name blank for now as I will be assigning them momentarily."
Taking out a pen, Yuffie filled out the paper, reading aloud as she did so. "Name? Yuffie Kisaragi. Class? Freshman." But she was interrupted by her neighbor.
"Do you have to do that?" he hissed.
"Do what?"
"Read it out loud."
"No, but since it annoys you, I will," she said happily as she continued. "Do you wear glasses or contacts?" Before she could answer her own question, he had snatched the sheet of paper from in front of her, wading it into a ball before throwing it across the room. "Hey!" she protested, "That wasn't very nice!" She sounded like a kindergartner without meaning to.
"No, it wasn't," the guy smirked. "But whoever said that I'm nice?"
Mr. Siewort looked up from his stack of papers on his desk at them. "Is there a problem?" he asked.
"I goofed up on my form and I need another one," Yuffie lied. Well, it's not a complete lie, she consoled herself, I really do need another one.
The TA beckoned her over, handing her the requested page. "Please, be more careful with this one," he said as she took it.
Sitting back down, Yuffie began to fill out the form once again, this time being careful not to read it aloud. Just as she had finished, Mr. Siewort rose from his chair to face the class. "Okay, I'll be assigning lab partners now, alphabetically." He began to go through a list of names, checking roll at the same time. "Gainesborough?" There was no answer. "Aerith Gainesborough?" Still no answer. "I guess she dropped," he muttered as he crossed the name off the list. "Okay, Kisaragi?" Yuffie raised her hand. "You and Leonhart will be partners."
"Great," the guy next to her muttered.
"You're Leonhart, I take it?" she said, the question coming out more like a statement.
"What gave it away?"
Yuffie studied him for a moment, trying to figure him out, before asking, "So, do you have a first name?"
"Leon," he replied simply yet firmly, leaving no room for questions.
"Leon Leonhart? Did your parents have a sick sense of humor?" she questioned confusedly. He scowled at her. "Well, Leon, I'm Yuffie." She stuck her hand out, planning on shaking hands like normal people did when they met for the first time. He just stared at her, azure eyes boring holes into her head. "Okay then, be that way!" she hissed. She turned her attention back to the TA.
"Strife?" The big blonde guy Yuffie had nearly sat next to raised his hand. "Well, since you're the last one, I guess you will have to join another pair."
Mr. Siewort was about to find the blonde a group when a young woman walked through the door wearing a pink blouse, flared blue jeans, and a pair of hiking boots. Her long chestnut hair was pulled into a thick braid that hung down her back. "Am I late?" she asked quietly, her big emerald eyes widening.
The TA looked down at the roster, "Aerith Gainesborough, I take it?"
"Yes. I'm sorry I'm late, but I had a flat tire and what with one thing and another, I lost track of time," she explained in her dulcet voice.
"Save the excuses, Miss Gainesborough. You're just in time. I have just assigned lab partners. You will be partners with Cloud Strife," he finished as he pointed to the blonde. Aerith sauntered over to the empty stool next the Cloud, shaking hands with him as she sat down. Mr. Siewort glanced around at the class. "People, I suggest you spend time today getting to know your partner as he or she will be your key to passing the class."
Yuffie turned back to Leon, "So, Leon, are you a freshman?"
"Yeah, I guess you could say that," he mumbled, hoping she would take the hint and be quiet.
"Well, you're either a freshman or you're not. There's no in between."
"Look, I hardly believe I should be classified as a freshman after spending eight years in the marines," he explained angrily.
Yuffie's eyes widened. "Eight years? But that would make you twenty-six at the least, wouldn't it?"
"Twenty-seven actually." He didn't like where this was going.
She stared at him for a moment, remembering her initial guess of twenty-two yesterday. "Liar," she finally told him. "You can't be more than twenty-two at the most."
He scowled at her, "I could feel flattered, but I'm not. I'm twenty-seven."
"Prove it!"
"Fine!" He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a wallet, opening it and showing Yuffie his Driver's License. "There, see for yourself."
Eyeing him skeptically, she looked down at the license and began to read. "Squall Leonhart? I thought you said your name was Leon?"
"It is Leon. Just look at the birth date," he commanded.
"June 17, 1976." Yuffie quickly did the math in her head, let's see, it's August 2003 right now, Oh my gosh! He really is twenty-seven! "Okay, you win. You're twenty-seven." With her admission he flipped the wallet closed and shoved it back into his pocket, turning away from his partner as he did so.
Sighing, Yuffie began to rummage through her bag, trying to find something to do since her partner apparently didn't want to talk with her. She jumped when she felt someone tap her shoulder.
"Excuse me," the chestnut haired woman started, "but my partner and I were wondering if you and your partner would like to come with us for breakfast?"
"You mean, we don't have to sit here in the lab for the full four hours?" Yuffie asked.
Aerith smiled. "You're a freshman, aren't you?"
"Am I that obvious?"
The woman nodded. "The TA just said for us to get acquainted. He didn't say it had to be in here." By now, Leon had turned and was listening to what she said. "So," she continued, "Would y'all like to join us?"
Yuffie nodded emphatically. "Sure, I would love to." She looked over to her partner, "But I'm not too sure if Squall wants to."
"It's Leon," he muttered. "I suppose I could join you, if only for a change of scenery." They gathered their things and rose from their stools to follow Aerith and the blonde out of the lab, telling the TA they were going elsewhere to become acquainted. He simply nodded, glad to be rid of at least some of the class.
Once in the hallway, the pink-clad woman turned Yuffie and Leon, saying, "By the way, I'm Aerith Gainesborough and this is Cloud Strife." She extended her hand in greeting.
Yuffie took it, saying, "Yuffie Kisaragi, and this is Squall Leonhart."
"I told you, my name is Leon," he said angrily. He shook hands with both Cloud and Aerith.
"So, does IHOP sound good for everyone?" Cloud asked, looking around at them expectantly. Their was a muted chorus of "yeah's" so the blonde began to lead the way down the hall and to the stairwell. Once on the first floor, they began the long trek across campus to the South Gate where the IHOP was located.
Once inside, they took a booth with Cloud and Aerith on one side, Yuffie and Leon on the other. "So, how about we each say what are major is and what we plan to do with it?" Aerith questioned. "I'll begin. I'm a senior English major and I plan to teach high school after I graduate in May."
"Wait a minute!" Yuffie exclaimed. "You're a senior and you're in a freshman level biology class?"
The woman blushed. "Well, two lower level science classes are required for every degree plan." She sighed, "And I put them off until the last year because I was trying to avoid it."
"Wow, so how old are you, exactly?" the ebony haired girl asked.
"Twenty-one."
Cloud went next. "I'm twenty-three, a junior business major, and in a freshman level class for the same reason as Aerith. I really didn't want to take it."
The waiter came to take their orders before Leon or Yuffie could say anything about themselves. But as soon as he left, Leon began. "Twenty-seven, ex-marine, freshman, pre-law major. Any questions?"
"How long were you in the marines?" Cloud asked.
"Eight years."
"Ah, that explains the short answers," the blonde mused.
Yuffie took a deep breath, "Well, I guess that just leaves me. I'm eighteen, so I guess I'm the baby of the group. This is my first time away from home, I just graduated in May. I haven't decided on a major yet, so I don't really know what I'm planning on doing after school."
They began chatting amongst themselves, the two women doing most of the talking and Leon the least, until the food arrived. But even that didn't completely stop their conversation. However, all good things must soon come to an end. Once they had finished their meal, Leon slipped out, throwing his share of the bill on the table. Soon after that, Yuffie left, leaving Cloud and Aerith to themselves. As the eighteen year old left though, she could have sworn she heard Cloud asking Aerith to dinner.
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Author's Note: There you have it. I told you ole Squallie boy would be in this chapter. And isn't he just as sweet as can be? Not! Oh, the thing where Yuffie didn't believe he was actually 27, that really happened to a friend of mine. We had just met this guy last semester at the university, and he only looked like he was maybe 20 or so. So when he said that he was 30, we didn't believe him until he pulled out his Driver's License. Also, the university where I spent my freshman year had teaching assistants (TA's) for all the labs because the professor's didn't have time to do themselves. TA's are usually graduate students working for tuition reduction. Anyways, you know the drill. READ AND REVIEW!!! More reviews = more chapters, faster.