Author's Note: Okay, I have to apologize. I think my summary was too misleading, so I've changed it now. I've had a couple of reviews asking for my Sora/Kairi interaction, but this story is mainly focused on Yuffie/Squall. I'm sorry if I've mislead anybody about this story and I hope to keep my readers and reviewers. Anyways, here's chapter 7.
Oh, and this chapter will have underage drinking. I, myself, do not support underage drinking, but it is in this chapter, so if you have a problem with that, don't read it. Please don't flame me for it.
Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story unless it is an original character created by me. I do occasionally use original characters created by Vulpes Lapis with her permission. (And you should read her stories)
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Chapter Seven: A Trick or A Treat?
Yuffie walked into the dorm room and threw her backpack over by the cluttered desk before throwing herself onto the small bed. Sighing loudly, she rolled over and buried her face in the pillow, much to the amusement of her red-headed roommate.
"So, Yuffie, I take it your biology exam wasn't a walk in the park, huh?" Kairi asked, a smile playing across her face.
Yuffie looked up long enough to give her an angry glare. As she buried her head back into the pillows, a muffled "I don't want to talk about it" floated across the room to Kairi.
"Well, Yuffie, you can sit there and mope about the exam, or you can come with me to pick out a Halloween costume."
Sitting up, Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you're going Trick-or-Treating. That is so childish."
"No, I'm not going Trick-or-Treating. Sora knows a guy who knows a guy who knows where there's going to be a Halloween party tomorrow night." Kairi noticed the interest coming into Yuffie's eyes. "So, I'm going today to get a costume. Do you want to come?"
"Can anyone come to this party? Or do you have to be invited?" Yuffie asked, a plan involving her and Squall forming in her mind.
Kairi grinned. "It's open to anyone. You just have to know how to get there."
"Okay, then. What are we waiting for? Let's go get our costumes." Yuffie grabbed her car keys, preferring to drive herself and Kairi to the costume rental store since Kairi had a habit of hitting parked cars.
Once at the store, Yuffie and Kairi went their separate ways to find the perfect costume for themselves. Yuffie spent a long time looking through the various princess and Renaissance gowns, but they just didn't seem like her style. She moved further to the back of the store where the more adult looking costumes were kept. That was when she saw it. She immediately took the costume to the fitting room and tried it on. Coming out to look at herself in the mirror, she saw Kairi walk in the room, carrying one of the princess gowns that Yuffie had disregarded.
Kairi took one glance at Yuffie and gasped, "You're not actually going to rent that, are you?"
Yuffie grinned as she spun around to look at her back in the mirror. "Yeah. I think I will. Do you think Squall will notice me now?"
The red-head looked at her a moment, mouth agape, before slowly nodding. "Yeah, he'll notice you...along with every other male in the room. But how are you going to get Squall to come? He doesn't seem like the party person."
"Maybe if I go pick him up at his apartment wearing this, he'll come." Yuffie had a wicked grin on her face as she went back to change back into her blue jeans and t-shirt. When she came out, Kairi was modeling her princess dress. It consisted of a light purple full-skirt, a darker purple bodice with white lacing, and a white shift underneath it all. The sleeves of the dress were puffy at the shoulder, then fit snugly down the rest of Kairi's arms.
"So, Yuffie, what do you think?" she asked as she continued to stare at herself in the mirror.
Yuffie smirked. "I just gotta say that Sora's going to have a hard time getting you out of that dress with all that lacing in the front." Kairi's face turned a couple of shades of crimson while Yuffie stood there laughing at her. "But, really Kairi, that dress looks perfect on you."
The two girls went to the cashier at the front of the large shop and made their arrangements for renting the two costumes. The cashier gave Yuffie a strange look, but refrained from any comments as the costume was laid on the counter.
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Halloween, for Squall, was like any other night of the year. Except for the fact that all the neighborhood kids felt like they had to egg his door since he refused to give candy to the few trick-or-treaters brave enough to knock. So, when the doorbell rang, he fully expected to find egg on his door. However, much to his surprise, Yuffie was standing there. In a bunny costume. A playboy bunny costume.
Squall gulped as he glanced at the costume, starting with her knee-high black boots up to her stockinged legs. His eyes kept their journey upward as he stared at what appeared to be a black swimsuit with a sleeveless tuxedo top and long tails in the back. At her wrists, she wore white cuffs. And, to make the costume complete, upon her head sat the bunny ears, peeking out of her ebony hair.
"Um...Yuffie...what are you doing here?" he finally managed to stammer out, fighting to keep his eyes on her face and not the rest of her.
She held back the laughter as she realized that her plan had worked: she definitely had his attention now. "I'm going to a Halloween party. And you're going with me," she stated, her voice firm.
He raised his eyebrows at her demand. "Oh, really? And if I say no?" he questioned.
She put on an innocent smile, "Then I'll just stay here and bug you until you give up and come with me." Beginning to shiver in the cool October air, she asked, "Are you going to let me in or let me stand out here and freeze? This costume's not the warmest thing in the world, ya know."
Risking another glance at her below the neck, he silently agreed with her comment and stepped away from the door, allowing her entrance to his apartment. He thought desperately for an excuse not to go to the party. "Uh, Yuffie...I can't go to the party. I don't have a costume."
She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Squall, you're an ex-marine. I'm sure you have a uniform in here somewhere, now don't you?"
"Leon." He rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "Yeah, I have a uniform, but I don't-"
"Then go put it on, silly," Yuffie interrupted. Ignoring his look of annoyance, she started down the hall to where she thought his bedroom might be.
Squall grabbed her bare arm. "Where do you think you're going?" he demanded.
"To go get your costume. Geez, you need this party more than I thought." She shook her head in exasperation. "You really should lighten up."
"If I put on the uniform, will you leave me alone?"
Yuffie grinned, "Sure."
"Fine." With that, he continued down the hall to his room, Yuffie following him. He turned back to look at her. "Are you going to watch me change?"
Smirking, she replied, "No, not on a first date...I think I'll wait til the second."
He glared at her. "This is NOT a date," he growled as he slammed the door in her face.
A few moments later, Squall stepped out of the bedroom in his uniform: the black jacket with brass buttons, black pants with an ironed crease, black boots, a white belt, and as he was walking out of the room, he grabbed the white cap and white gloves. He placed the cap on his head, his long russet hair peeking out beneath it and pulled the gloves on.
Yuffie gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "Wow, you look..." she trailed off, not wanting him to know that she thought he looked damn good in that uniform.
Squall glanced in her direction. "I look what?" he asked.
"I was gonna say you look hot." She blushed. "You know, like that uniform is hot because of the thick material," she quickly covered, hoping he wouldn't see her blush. "So, are you ready to go?"
He sighed resignedly, "If you're going to make me go, let's get it over with." Actually, he didn't mind the thought of going to that party with Yuffie, but with her dressed like that, he had to keep thinking about cold showers. "So, you're driving, I presume?" he asked as they walked to the front door.
"I didn't really think about it." Realizing how small her Dodge Neon was, she inquired, "What kind of car do you have?"
"An Avalanche...why?"
"We better take yours then. Mine is a Neon...it's awfully cramped inside."
"Yuffie, why do we need a lot of room in the car? Do you think we're going to need the backseat or something?" he asked sarcastically.
Her face turned a few interesting shades of red. "Fine, we'll take my car." She pulled the keys out of her purse as they walked across the parking lot to her car. Sliding into the driver's seat, she leaned over and unlocked the passenger door for Squall, who lowered himself slowly into the car, having to take his cap off so it wouldn't hit the doorframe. Yuffie started the car, the radio blaring and making Squall nearly jump out of the car. "Sorry," she told him apologetically as she turned it down and began the drive across town.
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"Are you sure it's on this street, Squall? It seems kinda quiet here."
"For the last time, my name is Leon. And, according to the address you gave me, it should be over the hill." As he said this, the car climbed to the top of the hill and they were able to see the scene below: cars lined the street, blocking driveways, and college students milled about in various costumes.
Finding a spot fairly close to where the party actually was, Yuffie parallel parked her small car, grinning in satisfaction. "I did it! I parallel parked!" she crowed.
"Good for you," Squall muttered as he got out of the car and waited for Yuffie to get out. They started down the street, falling in with the crowd, and eventually came to the house where all the noise seemed to be coming from.
As they walked up to the door, a princess and someone wearing a hospital gown passed by. Recognizing the princess gown, Yuffie hollered, "Kairi! I want you to meet Squall."
"It's Leon," Squall told Kairi as she and the guy in the hospital gown turned around to meet him.
As Kairi and Squall shook hands, Yuffie squinted at the guy with Kairi. He seemed familiar, but with him hunched over, she couldn't tell. He finally looked up at her, his bright blue eyes giving him away. "Sora! I didn't recognize you!"
"Yeah, I've been getting that a lot tonight." Sora shrugged and pulled a jar with something floating in it out of his gown.
Confused, Yuffie asked, "What are you supposed to be anyway?"
Sora gave her his trademark smile. "I'm a brain donor. See?" He pointed to the stitches across his forehead and the jar in his hand. "I put cauliflower in some water to be my brain."
Yuffie chuckled while Squall looked at the boy like he was insane. "Oh, I forgot to introduce you. Sora, this is Squall. Squall, Sora."
"My name is Leon," Squall hissed at Yuffie.
"Whatever," she sighed. "Can we just get inside now? I'm freezing my butt off."
"Maybe if you hadn't worn that, you wouldn't," Kairi suggested as she and Yuffie fell behind the guys.
Yuffie leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Yeah, but I wouldn't have gotten a reaction out of Squall either. I tell you, he was checking me out."
Kairi smiled and shook her head. "You're pathetic, Yuffie. Why are you so focused on him? Why not some other guy? Hell, you could have any guy here while you're dressed like that."
"You just don't get it, do you? There's something about him that I can't explain." Yuffie sighed much like a love-sick teenager. "Something intriguing, something alluring."
Kairi didn't answer her, just simply shook her head at her roommate's man of choice. They reached the door and walked through, finding a lot more people inside the house than outside. An amazing feat. The two girls took their purses to the back room where everyone was leaving their coats and such. Just as they were about to leave the room, they heard a gasp.
"Yuffie? Is that you?" a shocked voice asked.
"Um...yeah. Is there a problem?" Yuffie replied as she turned to see Aerith, dressed in the same costume as Kairi...except pink instead of purple.
"No. I was just kind of surprised to see you...dressed like that," she stammered, still in shock at the way her friend had dressed. "Did you come here alone?"
Yuffie grinned. "No, I managed to talk Squall into coming. He's out there somewhere, don't know where exactly, but he's there." She noticed the similarities between her two friend's gowns. "And about the costume. At least I haven't seen anyone else dressed like me," she said pointedly.
The three young women left the room, and wandered back to where the rest of the crowd was dancing. Yuffie immediately spotted Squall leaning against the far wall, his uniform setting him apart from all the others. Not far from him, stood Cloud, dressed as a Renaissance nobleman. Yuffie glanced at Aerith and whispered, "Matching costumes, huh? Cute." Aerith just grinned as she made her way over to him.
Yuffie sauntered over to the kitchen, finding ice chests full of various alcoholic beverages. She reached into one and pulled out a wine cooler before meandering through the people to where Squall was standing. However, before she got there, she was stopped by a familiar looking young woman in Renaissance type dress. The dress consisted of a flouncy-sleeved muslin shift which left her shoulders uncovered, a brown velvet bodice with front laces, a red skirt, and leather armguards with celtic horses.
"You're Yuffie, right?" the gray-eyed woman asked.
"Yes..."
"You don't remember me, do you?"
"Well, you seem familiar, but I can't quite place you," Yuffie admitted.
The woman laughed and pointed across the room. "Well, maybe you'll remember him." The guy in question was wearing black pants, a silver silk shirt, and a black hooded cape with red lining that came over his eyes almost to his upper lip. Completing his costume was a black belt with a fencing sword, big black leather gloves, and a medallion hanging from his neck.
Yuffie thought for a moment while she stared at him. Finally, she realized who he was as a few strands of silver hair slipped out from beneath his hood. "He's Riku!" she exclaimed. She turned to look at the woman beside her. "And you're...Zephyr, right?"
She nodded, smiling. "I just wanted to come over here and thank you for introducing us. If it weren't for you, I might have never had the courage to approach him."
Yuffie blushed, "It was nothing, really." They stood there and chatted for a few moments before Riku came and pulled Zephyr away, claiming he wanted to dance. Yuffie started back across to where Squall was still standing, unopened wine cooler in hand.
"Where have you been?" Squall asked as she approached him.
"I was chatting. It's what people normally do at parties," she told him, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "Geez, you're acting like an overprotective boyfriend." She hoped to get a rise out of him with that statement. She succeeded.
"I am NOT your boyfriend. I'm only here because you gave me no choice, remember?" He noticed the wine cooler in her hand. "What are you doing with that? You're underage. You're only eighteen, remember?"
"Really, Squall? I hadn't noticed. I thought I turned twenty-one last night, but apparently I was wrong." Rolling her eyes, she muttered, "You need to lighten up Squall. It's only a wine cooler. It probably won't even effect me."
"It's Leon. And you've never had one before?"
"No...good grief, you've gone from overprotective boyfriend to overprotective mother in less than five minutes. It's a new record," she quipped as she took a sip of her drink.
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An hour later, she was stumbling around the room in quest of another drink when Squall took her arm. "I think you've had enough, Yuffie," he hissed in her ear.
"But, Squallie, I've only had two," she protested, her words slurred.
"Leon. And, I know, but apparently, you have no alcohol tolerance."
Yuffie looked at his hand on her arm and grinned. "Hey, Squall, you have really big hands," she said in a very loud and drunken voice. She glanced down at his feet. "An' really big feet." Her grin got wider.
He didn't like where this was going and he especially didn't like all the people now staring at his hands and feet. "It's Leon. And yeah?" he ventured.
"Well, ya know what they say about guys who have big hand an' big feet, don't ya? They're supposed to have really big-"
He clamped a hand across her mouth before she could finish her sentence. "Yes, Yuffie, I know," he growled. Dragging her away from the drinks in the kitchen and back to the living room, he felt something tickle his hand. He pulled it away from her mouth only to find her licking it. "Yuffie, why were you licking my hand?" he asked, not really wanting to know the answer.
"I dun know. I jus felt like it," she slurred as she grinned. "Hey, ya know what?"
Squall closed his eyes, fearing the worst. "What?"
"Your foot is the same length as your forearm," she said in what she thought was a whisper, but being in a drunken state, it was heard across the room. Squall looked at her in disbelief. "It is, and I can prove it." With that, she tried to lift her foot to her arm, only to fall. Luckily, Squall caught her before she hit the floor.
"I think we need to go, Yuffie," he muttered as he pulled her to the room where she had left her purse. She managed to find it with little difficulty. But maybe that was because her name was embroidered on the front flap.
"Okay, Squall, les go," she said as she stumbled out of the room.
He stopped her. "Yuffie, give me the keys."
"No, I kin drive. I only had two drinks."
"Give me the keys," he demanded, holding out his hand.
"NO!"
Realizing he was getting nowhere fast, he grabbed her purse from her grasp and dug around in there until he found them. He handed it back to her, ignoring her indignant look, and took her by the arm and led and out the door.
"Hey, ya know what?" she asked as they were passing through the crowded living room.
Squall closed his eyes, fearing the answer. "What?"
"I'm a virgin." She leaned into him as she said this. "An' I dun wanna die a virgin." The crowd around them turned to look at her before bursting out in laughter. "I dun wanna wait for marriage either," she continued.
At that point, a man approached her. "Hey, baby. I can help with your problem."
"Really?" Yuffie asked. "Good, cause I wanna-"
Squall stopped her and pulled her away from the seedy-looking man and out the door. When they reached the car, he gently pushed her into the passenger seat, reaching across her to buckle her seat belt. Going around to the other side, he slid in and started the car. Yuffie leaned across the seat to look at his floorboard. "Yuffie, what are you doing?"
"Yep, you got really big feet."
"Yes, Yuffie. We've been over this. I have big feet and big hands and I don't want to talk about it any-" he broke off when he heard her gagging and felt something splash on his shoes. He stopped the car and held his head in his hands for a moment. "You just puked on my shoes, didn't you?"
"Yes," she muttered as she wiped her mouth. "An' I feel much better now." With that, she leaned against the window and closed her eyes. Within seconds, Squall could hear her rhythmic breathing, signaling that she was asleep. He started the car back up and headed for his apartment since he didn't know where her dorm was and he was sure that, in her condition, she wouldn't know either.
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Parking her car as close to his apartment as possible, Squall got out and walked over to Yuffie's side. He opened the door carefully, catching her as she spilled out. He tried to shake her awake, but that proved a failure as she was out like a light. Sighing, he picked her up, placing one hand under her knees and using the other to support her back. She just lay there, limp as a rag, allowing him to easily carry her up the stairs. At his door, however, he encountered a problem: how to get his keys out of his pocket while holding her. Realizing that wasn't going to work, he leaned her against the wall and quickly unlocked the door, grabbing her as she began to fall.
She groaned and placed a hand to her head as he carried her back to the bedroom. "Where am I?" she asked quietly, squinting her eyes shut against the hall light.
Squall sat her on the foot of the bed and handed her a t-shirt he had pulled out of his closet. "You're at my apartment. Here, put this on." Still in a drunken daze, she obeyed, not even waiting for him to get out of the room as she began to undo the tux part of her costume. Shutting his eyes, Squall turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.
A few moments later, he returned and knocked on the door. "Yuffie? Are you decent?" Not getting an answer, he opened the door slowly and saw the lump laying under the covers on the bed. She was already asleep again, her costume thrown around the room. Sighing, Squall grabbed a blanket and went to the living room, where he stripped down to his boxers and tried to sleep on the couch.
After he had fallen off the sofa for what seemed like the hundredth time, Squall glanced at the clock. 3:58. And he still hadn't gotten any sleep. Giving in to the temptation, he silently crept back to his bedroom and slid under the covers with Yuffie, careful to stay on his side of the bed and avoid contact with her. Finally comfortable, he drifted off into a restful sleep.
Yuffie awoke the next morning with a raging headache and the feeling that she was not in her dorm room. She slowly opened her eyes, only to slam them shut again when the light from the sun hit them. Moaning, she tried again, this time squinting and holding a hand across her brow to help block the rays out.
Wait a minute, she thought as her mind worked frantically to put the pieces together, this isn't my bed...hell, this isn't even my room. She rolled over and let out a small squeak when she saw Squall on the other side of the bed. What happened last night?
She painstakingly sat up, holding the sides of her head with her hands and looked down at what she was wearing: a t-shirt...Squall's t-shirt to be exact. Bits and pieces of the night began to come back. I remember going to the party. And I remember I went with Squall. And I vaguely remember him handing my a t-shirt, but why? She carefully lifted the blankets and gulped when she saw that the man next to her only had a pair of boxers on. Uh-oh!
Reaching over with one hand, she gently shook him awake. "Squall? Squall? Wake up!" He groaned and slapped her hand away. "SQUALL!" she yelled, the immediately clutched her head from the migraine she received.
Squall's eyes fluttered open and he squinted at her. "What?" he muttered, still half-asleep.
"Where are my clothes?" she whispered, not wanting to make the headache worse.
He waved his hand. "They kind of got thrown around the room." With that, he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.
Yuffie slowly got out of the bed, holding her head to make the room quit tilting, and looked around. He was right; her costume was flung around the room, increasing her fears of what had happened in her drunken stupor. Gathering the various pieces of the costume, she stumbled to the bathroom and began to dress, deciding to wear the t-shirt over the top. She then went to the kitchen where she found her keys lying on the counter, which she grabbed as she headed out the door and to her car.
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Yuffie finally made it back to her dorm room at around 10:30, finding Kairi and Sora eating breakfast. Kairi glanced at her roommate, noticing how bedraggled she looked. "Hey, are you okay, Yuf?" she asked.
Yuffie nodded, "Yeah, I think so." Sighing, she went to her dresser and pulled out some pajamas to put on. A moment later, she came out of the bathroom and sat on her bed, placing her head in her hands.
Realizing that Yuffie needed to talk, Kairi ushered Sora out the door, promising to call him later. She went back and set down next to Yuffie on the bed. "Okay, what happened to you?"
Grinning grimly, Yuffie lifted her head out of her hands. "That's the problem. I don't know."
Kairi's eyes went wide. "What do you mean you don't know? Where were you?"
Yuffie shut her eyes. "I woke up in Squall's bed this morning...with Squall."
"You what?! You two didn't...you know, did you?"
"That's the problem. I don't remember." She sighed. "I remember going to the party with Squall...and I vaguely remember him handing me a t-shirt...but that's all." Tears started to well up in her eyes. "And then, this morning, I wake up in his bed....in a t-shirt. And he's in his boxers. My costume was flung all around the room." She paused. "And he was really tired."
The red-head gulped. "You don't think he took advantage of you, do you?"
Before Yuffie could answer, the phone rang. Yuffie clutched her aching head as Kairi answered it. A second later, it was shoved into her hands. "Hello?" Yuffie managed to say through the headache.
"Yuffie? It's Leon. I was calling to see if you were okay." It sounded as though he was actually concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Um...Squall..."
"Leon," he interrupted.
"Whatever...can you tell me what happened last night?" She tried not to sound desperate.
"You don't remember anything?" Surprise filled his voice.
"Um...no," she finally stated.
She heard a sigh on the other end of the line. "Well, after about an hour at the party, you were pretty drunk and you were starting to get kinda rowdy. So, I took you back to my place."
"Why didn't you bring me back to my dorm?" she asked tentatively.
"Because, after you puked on my shoes, you were out cold."
"I puked on your shoes?" she whispered in disbelief.
"Yeah, but don't worry about it." He paused for a second before continuing. "At my apartment, I gave you a shirt to sleep in since I couldn't take you to your dorm in that condition."
"But why were we in the same bed?"
Squall chuckled. "Don't worry. Nothing happened. I was going to sleep on the couch, but I kept falling off, so I slept on the other side. So, you're still a virgin."
"What?! How the hell do you know that?" she shouted into the handset.
"Simple. You told me last night." Before she could say anything else, he finished with, "Look, I gotta go. Have fun with your first hangover." Yuffie heard a click on the line as he hung up.
Sighing in relief, she stood up and went to take a shower, wondering why Squall was actually concerned enough to call and check-up on her.
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Author's Note: Whew! I finally finished writing it. It is now 2:30 A.M. But, I promised VL that I would have this up by Thursday morning, so you owe me big time VL. At least, tomorrow is my off day though, so I can sleep late. Anyways, this is my longest chapter yet at around 5000 words, but I couldn't really find a place to stop it at. And, I would like to say once again that I do not, in any way, condone underage drinking. Hell, I'm 21 and I don't even drink. I'm kinda like Yuffie...I have no alcohol tolerance. But, anyways, Read and Review. (I have 49 reviews right now. If I get to 100, I'm gonna have a party. ^_^) Now, I'm going to post this and go to bed before I collapse. So, Goodnight. Or, really, it's Goodmorning now. Oh well.