AN: The party scene from the movie is in here, but changed a bit. You don't have to actually seen the movie to understand the fic, but I use some major scenes from it. People who have seen it know what I'm talking about. Well, goodbye and enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: no animals were harmed during the making of this fic.
Chapter 5 - Butterfly
Late November, Friday afternoon, after school and one day before the party.
Tidus sat in his room watching music videos alone. He'd had a bad practice, and gotten a huge lecture from Jecht. He was actually glad the blitz season was almost over. Nothing was ever good enough for Jecht. He was always finding him lacking. He had even made fun of him for crying when they found out Tidus's mother had lost her battle with cancer. He was sick of always having to be someone else. Why wasn't who he was ever good enough? And now, because of his need to constantly prove his worth to others he'd gotten himself into a huge mess with Yuna and Seymour. That cursed bet. Yeah, he'd tried to forget it, but he couldn't, especially with Seymour reminding him about it all the time. " Good morning, How's our wager going?" He'd say.
It had been nagging in the back of his mind for weeks. Seymour would never let him back down. Why had he been so stupid? He knew he would have to tell Yuna. It was only right. Before they got any closer. But how? Whenever he looked into her eyes, he only wanted to make her as happy as possible. He'd actually been nervous when picking out an outfit to wear to the party tomorrow. He never got nervous about a date or a girl before. The last week had gone by fast, rumors going around more and more about Tidus and Yuna. They didn't bother him at all. Yuna didn't seem broken up over it either. So maybe she'd agree when he asked her to be his girl. Depending on if he had enough balls to tell her the truth. He pushed the nagging thoughts away again.
Three knocks on his door and then Wakka entered. Wasn't he supposed to say come in first?
"Hey man. How's, how's it going?" Wakka walked in and sat on a black beanbag, handing Tidus a can of cola.
"It's going." Tidus said flatly. Sensing Tidus was in a bad mood, Wakka tried to cheer him up.
"We had a lot of fun at the beach last week, hope we can top it with this party at Barthello's.
" I still can't believe you wore those speedos man. If I didn't know you better, I'd be worried." Tidus said while sipping the Pepsi. Wakka's face hardened. He'd been teased about it all week, and was sick of it.
"Whatever man. Rikku wanted me to wear it, and so I did. I tried it on in the store and I felt like an idiot. I wanted to wear these board shorts I had brought a while ago. I was gonna tell her to buzz off, but then I saw the look on her face when she saw me in the stupid thing. She looked so happy ya? Said it matched her suit perfect. Her eyes lite up really bright, like they were sparkling. She looked at me like I was the greatest guy in the world. Like I'd just saved a box of starving kittens or something. She knew what it was costing me pride wise to wear that thing, and she appreciated it. I'd do anything for that look man, no matter how stupid or sissy it makes me appear. The guys can rag on me all they want, but what I feel for that girl, nothing compares to, not blitzball, not The In, nothing." Wakka said passionately.
Tidus watched him, kind of stunned. Wakka had turned the tables, and now Tidus felt like a jerk for ragging on the guy for just being in love. And he knew Rikku felt the same. He envied them. Things between him and Yuna would never be so straightforward and simple. He wondered if he'd ever see that look Wakka described in Yuna's eyes, and knew, if he ever did, he'd be in the same boat as Wakka. He'd do anything to make her happy.
" So Rikku staying at Yuna's tonight. Said she got some super surprise for you Tidus." Wakka said.
"Really? I wonder what they're up to. You got a new outfit for tomorrow night Wakka?"
"Yeah man. Luckily for me Rikku is too caught up on whatever she's doing to Yuna to worry bout what I'm doing. Which mean's its something really big . . . "
Yuna read the price tag of the red dress [$3500]. And laughed hysterically.
" What is it?" Rikku asked, poking her head out of a designer jean rack.
"This dress . . . cost enough to get me through a semester of college." Rikku laughed and walked over, and stuffed the dress in Yuna's hands. "Try it on."
They were in a ritzy super expense store, Bellgamine's Boutique. Bellgamine was one of the most famous clothing designers in all of Spira and infamous for her outrageous clothing prices, which women all over the world clamored to own. Yuna had been overwhelmed. She and Rikku would walk in ridiculously fancy and expensive stores and get dirty suspicious looks from the snotty clerks. In this one there were about three store clerks circulating around them.
"Someday I will have a store like this." Rikku gushed, pushing the dress into Yuna's hands. She dreamed of being a fashion designer, among a million other things.
" I am not trying this on Rikku . . . " Yuna whined while being forced through a gold curtain that led to a huge dressing room with large mirrors all around. Annoyingly loud classical music buzzed in their ears. A store clerk, hanging up some clothes, moved closer towards them, watching them closely.
" Do you have any idea how much my step-daddy makes a year Yuna? It's ridiculous. It's our duty to spend it. All he buys is pornos and beer with it. He won't even miss any. Now just try on this dress, stay in here and I'll bring you some more clothes and shoes and accessories. We're gonna buy you a whole new wardrobe. !! And tomorrow you have a haircut at Ronso's Hair Designs, REMEMBER!" Rikku looked at Yuna as if she were some science experiment she was working on. She rubbed her hands together and smiled weirdly.
" Yesssssss I live for stuff like this but we can't buy all stuff from here. We can check out some other stores later, to mix it up." Rikku said.
" No offense Rikku . . . but I could buy the same dress for like 20 bucks at a teen fashion store. Name brands are just kinda silly to me. It's all about ego I think. They just say, "look, I 'm gonna pay 75% more for an article of clothing just because someone famous slaps a fancy logo on it, so that means I'm cool now." It's just silly, a waste of money." Yuna pressed.
" I mean this red dress I'm holding could feed a starving family for months. Even though it's not my money, I wouldn't feel right wearing it." Yuna finished her speech passionately.
Rikku cocked her head at Yuna, and smiled. " I understand Yuna. You know, when you become a famous singer, I know you won't be snotty and rude like other ones. You really care about people. We can go to a cheaper store if it makes you feel better. But in the designer's defense, I don't think they always have much say in how much their clothes cost you know?"
Rikku took the dress back from Yuna and carefully placed it back on the rack. Yuna followed her out of the dressing room. The clerk followed them some more, ducking behind a mannequin when Rikku turned around. Rikku stuck her tongue out at the mannequin.
" Actually, I don't want any clothes from any store, per say." Yuna said slowly.
"What? You're backing out of the make over?" Rikku's face fell.
" No, no. It's just. Well, I'm coming out as the real me right? Well, the real me wants to be original. I don't want to walk around in clothes everyone else already has. And . . . I've seen the clothes you wear and the clothes you have in your closets at your house . . . you make them yourself right?"
"Well, yeah . . . I kinda just buy simple shirts, skirts and pants, and cut here or paste something there, to make it unique." Rikku said shyly. The girls walked out of the store, the cashier looking hard at them, probably to make sure they weren't walking out with stolen merchandise. Jerk. Rikku blew a kiss to the clerks in the store and then pointed to her butt. Yuna blushed a little and turned toward Rikku.
" I....was thinking well, I wanna become a singer right . . . Well . . . with a lot of help, I could start you know, having my own style. Every great music artist has their own unique way of dressing, a way that belongs to them only. I was wondering. If you would design clothes for me . . . I mean you always look like a knock out, and no one can imitate it. I want Tidus to look at me . . . How he did when he saw me last Saturday. And how he looks at me when he's staring into my eyes. But this time, it would be the whole package. I'd look really great, thanks to you, and I wouldn't remind him of any other girl. I know it sounds corny but-"
" No Yunie! I think it's fantastic! I'd love to make clothes for you! I know you're not as err...bold as me, but we can pick out some base clothes and fabrics and come up with a super wardrobe! And believe me, Tidus already knows you're not any other girl, hip wardrobe or not! He may have dated a lot before, but no one compares to you Yuna. Now, come on, we've got some serious designing to do by tomorrow night! We'll make the perfect outfit and accessories! Hell, we could make that dress in that store! ."
The girls rushed to the nearest fabric store, bursting with plans and ideas.
Saturday, 9:42 p.m.
Tidus picked at his hair in the mirror some more. He hoped it wouldn't start sticking up again. He stepped back and examined his dark khakis and stripped polo shirt. He felt dorky but he didn't want to wear his staple jeans and tank or jersey. He wanted to impress Yuna, so he had actually ironed his clothes and had attempted to tame his spiky hair. He was supposed to pick up Yuna in about 20 minutes. This would be the first time he'd actually be at her house. She'd told him about the shop her family ran and how she lived alone with her mother.
He heard his cellphone buzz and picked it up off his desk.
"It's Tidus what's up?"
"Oh Tidy baby. . . I'm looking forward to seeing you tonight, I'll be wearing that little black number you use to go crazy for when we dated . . . " an annoying, slutty voice purred in his ear from the other line.
" Dona? Why do you still have my cell number? Listen. I don't know why you keep pushing me. We broke up, actually you dumped me several months ago. Why won't you just let it go?" Tidus tried to keep from yelling, but the girl tried his patience.
" But baby I miss you. And to see how desperate you've gotten, hanging out with that freak girl. I mean really Tidy baby I miss our.. special times together..."
" Well, I don't. Lucky for me I didn't catch anything. And leave Yuna out of this Dona, you're not fit to breathe her name." Tidus snapped, his control slipping.
" WHAT? HOW dare you talk to me like that, do you have any idea who your dealing with? If you bring that trash to the party tonight you'll be sor-"
Tidus pressed the end button very hard on his phone, breathing in and out to calm down. He was not going to let a little phone call from a clingy ex ruin his night. The phone buzzed again, and kept buzzing as he finished getting ready. After about five minutes of nonstop buzzing, he turned his phone off, grabbed his car keys and headed downstairs.
He'd almost made it out the door when he heard his father's voice from the living room.
" I hope your going out to sharpen those blitz skills boy...Dona called the house just now and said you've been hanging out with some poor retarded girl. We have a reputation in this town, you wont see her anymore." Jecht said from the white leather sofa.
" I hear she's a great girl from Rikku, and she's not retarded, she has sixth sense or something." Rikku's mom, Sara defended.
" We'll she may be good enough for your daughter but not for my boy. You stop hanging out with that girl." Jecht warned.
Tidus opened the door and turned to his father. He was sick of being pushed around all day. " I'll stop seeing her when you stop being a bigoted, narrow minded conceited asshole. But that's never gonna happen, so I wont stop seeing her." With that Tidus left the house. Sara's mouth dropped. Tidus truly hated his father, and Jecht seemed to want it that way. Jecht watched the door that his son had just exited. The boy never used to stand up to him like that. Maybe this girl had given his son some much needed backbone. Despite himself, he smiled a little.
About 10 minutes later Tidus pulled up in front of the little shop apartment that was Yuna's home. He was a little ruffled, but determined to put the never ending problem of his old man and Dona, or, to better put it, people telling him how he should behave, behind him. At least Yuna didn't expect or demand anything of him. He walked up to the little shop with the closed sigh facing the window and knocked on the door. He looked up at the night sky. A full moon. That was good right? Lights turned on in the building. An older woman, who looked like the future version of Yuna walked towards the door and unlocked it.
"Hi. Im-"
"Tidus. Star captain blitz ball player, klutz, and all around good guy. Yes, Yuna's talked about you quite a bit." The woman hugged him briefly and pulled him into the store, locking the door back. He looked around. There was some incense burning. He inhaled. Sandalwood. There were wind chimes all along the ceiling around. He wondered why there was so many.
" There are like a doorbell for visiting spirits." Ariel told Tidus, as if reading his mind. The shop was decorated in earth tones. Greens, browns and blues. There was a small waiting area with green couches and a small bookshelf filled with literature about the paranormal. In the opposite corner was a small counter with a cash register, along the walls shelves of charms, trinkets, and herbs. In another corner was a beautiful winding metal staircase which Ariel walked up to, yelling.
" Baby, Tidus is here!!"
"Okay !"an excited Yuna yelled back. She sounded real happy, yet nervous.
"This place is awesome." Tidus said in awe.
" You like it? We keep it up pretty good. You know... Tidus just now, when you came in here.. A energy hit me....someone's trying to reach you, through me... Someone who was close to you perhaps...A woman?" Ariel asked mysteriously. She walked closer to Tidus He looked up as some of the wind chimes moved, them stopped again.
"Huh? trying to reach me? What do you mean?" Tidus stared at Ariel curiously. He wondered who she was talking about. Could it be…?
Ariel held her head and shook it back and forth. " Oh well. Its gone now. So where do you plan on taking my daughter tonight?"
Tidus grinned. " To a blitz players house ma'am."
"And you'll have her back no later then one. And no roaming hands. Or else." Ariel said very sweetly. Tidus cringed. He thought only fathers were supposed to threaten their daughters dates.
"I'm coming down!!" An excited Yuna yelled from the top of the stairs. Tidus and Ariel raced over to either side of the staircase.
The first thing he saw were strappy sandals with cute painted toes sticking out, and a single silver toe ring adorning her left foot. As she descended more came into view revealing a silver anklet leading to her long, tanned legs that led up to a apple red dress. It was short, about mid thigh, with small slits on each side. The bustline was heart-shaped, with a modest amount of cleavage poking through. The sleeves were spaghetti strapped and tied in bows at the top of her shoulders. The dress fit her small waist tightly and fared out a little at the bottom. She had a prefect hourglass figure.
By this time his mouth was dropped open. It went dry as she stood in front of him and he saw her face. The first thing he noticed was her eyes. She wasn't wearing her glasses, and had on sky blue eyeshadow and black liner. Her hair was cut in layers to frame her oval face, the longest part barely reaching her shoulder. It had been flipped up and straighten flat. and looked edgy and movie starish Her cheeks were glowing and her lips were covered in a soft pink lipstick. She smiled at Tidus's open mouth reaction. She also looked down and blushed as she noticed that...little Tidus was pleased as well. She and Rikku had worked hard on the dress. Rikku had left a few hours ago to go to Wakka's.
" Ooh...you're so beautiful honey." Ariel gushed. She was actually crying. Moms were so lame sometime.
Tidus finally managed to close his mouth, but still continued to stare at her. They made eye contact and held it. She had never seen him look at her that way before. Her mom shot one last warning look at Tidus and quietly went up the stairs.
"Wow...you look incredible...." A bemused expression took over his face. Yuna blushed.
"Tidus..."
" I mean it Yuna. You're beautiful." He was glad she couldn't read minds, because if she knew what he was thinking of doing to her right now she'd scream and run the other way.
"Shall we?" He extended an arm to which she accepted, giggling.
They walked outside to his Porsche and he quickly opened the door for her. She got in, but he continued to stare at her, holding the car door still.
"Um Tidus....."
'She looks even better in the moonlight.'
"Tidus, what's wrong? You're embarrassing me."
' I wish I could just ditch the party and get her alone and-'
"TIDUS!!" Yuna's yell broke Tidus dirty thoughts temporary and he grinned and apologized. He climbed into the car and started driving. Luca was especially bright tonight. If was as if the stars were shining their brightest just for the young couple. The night air was a perfect temperature, not too cold or warm. There were teens loitering on every street corner. They rode in silence for a bit as Tidus tried to get his head together and Yuna tried to adjust to her new look. When Rikku had finished with her she had stared at her dumbfounded, just as Tidus and Mom had. Rikku said that she was the duckling that turned into the beautiful swan.
"I really like your breasts. Did Rikku help you with it?" Tidus asked, eyes on the road.
"What?" Yuna stared at him for a moment, Then laughed, waiting for him to notice his slip.
Tidus reddened suddenly. " All shit, I mean... shoot... der um, I meant..." What the hell was wrong with him? She could rattle him so easily.
"Yes, she made it for me. My dress." Yuna said teasingly, taking pity on him.
"So tell me about this part we're going to Tidus.."
" Huh? Oh, its just Bordello's house. His parents go out of town a lot so he'll have these huge parties, his house is pretty big, and has a really big pool. It won't just be The In there this time, a lot of other kids crash the party a lot. But you know we don't have to stay there the whole time, I mean we could always go somewhere afterwards. In fact, we could just blow it off completely-"
" No way. " Yuna cut in. "Rikku would kill me if I didn't show. She's probably there now waiting for us. And besides I wanna see the look on everyone's face when I show up with the best catch in town on my arm." She smiled at Tidus.
Tidus stole a glance at Yuna, her eyes teasing. He liked this confident side of her.
" I think you have it the other way around. I do believe I have the best catch in town, and I intend to keep her..." he said in a low voice. Yuna blushed and turned her head away. She wondered what he meant by keeping her.
Tidus turned down a quiet street turning down his radio.
"...your mother was starting to say something to me about seeing someone...looking fo me or something.." He stole a glance at her, looking serious.
"Oh. Well sometimes, if a spirit wants to contact someone, and for whatever reason they can't, they go to a medium, and try to get the medium to talk to the person for them." Yuna tried to explain it simply to Tidus. "Maybe someone from your past was trying to reach you Tidus, and used Mom."
" But she said she lost it or something. Can you find out somehow? I don't know how this stuff works."
" Well, my gift isn't as strong as my mothers..." Yuna said, hating to disappoint him.
"You think you're mom trying to reach you Tidus? She died right?"
" Yeah. Maybe its just wishful thinking. I just..never got closure. I wasn't with her when she died in the hospital, she died alone. " He stopped at a red light, and his face clouded in pain at the bad memories. Yuna squeezed his hand gently.
" I was like that when my Dad died, it was really painful. But I was able to see him for a little while after that. But somehow, it made it worst. Harder for me to accept death as final you know? But maybe Mom did get a message from her, but was cut off. If it was your mom, I'm sure she'll try again." She smiled at Tidus, who winked at her, suddenly happy and grinning again. He never teased her or acted skeptical when she talked about her gift with him. That was one of the many things she liked about him.
Tidus parked on the side of the street. Yuna looked over across a large lawn and saw a huge brown stone house with a large balcony and a pool below. There were high school, and maybe even some college kids running everywhere and acting silly. A group of guys were chugging beer out of a huge keg. Some guy jumped from the balcony into the pool. A girl ran off to the side of the house and barfed on the lawn. And she wanted to be friends with these people? She wouldn't fit in, dressed up or not. And maybe she didn't want to if this was how they acted.
"Hey, I know that look..." Tidus climbed from his side of the car and walked over and opened her door. " Their all mostly drunk, which explains the weird behavior, a little bit anyways. And don't clam up, I can see it in your eyes. They'll only bother you if you let them. Don't' lose confidence in yourself Yuna." She smiled and he helped her out of the car, slamming her door closed. He held her hand firmly in his as they walked up the lawn towards the house.
"Hey Tidus!" Rin, a local college pot-head, ran towards Tidus and Yuna.
" What's up man.. Who's the hot chick? Wow you're beautiful baby..." Rin drunkenly reached for Yuna. Yuna wasn't use to this type of advance from men and gasped and stepped back.
"Heh! Get away from her.." Tidus pushed the drunk student away from Yuna. He wasn't a jealous or possessive person, but it made him sick to see any man touch her or try to. If this was a sample of what was to become tonight, he was in trouble.
" Duuude relax. I didn't know she was you're lady man." Rin made a peace sign to Tidus before stumbling away.
"I'm sorry about that." Tidus said as they walked the rest of the way towards the house.
"It's okay. I guess I'll have to get used to it." Yuna said. Rikku had warned her she wouldn't blend into the walls anymore. She would have to adjust to being an object of attraction.
Tidus opened the front door, lending to a large living room where people were scattered all around, dancing, drinking and talking. There was loud music from some boy band playing. About 20 or 30 people crowded the room.
Tidus puffed up and proudly strutted across the room in pimp fashion with Yuna on his arm, saying hi and nodding towards a few people. He knew he was the luckiest man there. Not only was Yuna beautiful, but she was fresh, new. He knew, whether Yuna did or not, that by tomorrow she would be made. The students of Luca High would quickly forget the Yuna of old and embrace the new, beautiful hip chick like the newest fashion craze. But he would not forget the Yuna of old, the quiet, shy girl who would freeze him off and insult him. He cherished that part of her as much as the new emerging girl.
Yuna watched the reactions of people she'd known for years, people who had tormented her and made her school life hell. She watched their mouths drop. She watched guys ogle her and girls look at her in envy or jealously. She watched a group of girls, the cheerleaders, A.K.A. Dona's bitch squad, spot her and gasp loudly, then whisper amongst themselves. She felt an odd feeling of triumph within her. She wasn't a petty person, but hot damn, it sure fit good to be her right now! Now who's the freak? She wanted to shout to the whole room. Tidus led her over to a corner where Wakka and two other blitz players, Jumal and Zev were talking. Unfortunately, Dona and Seymour were there as well.
The group stopped talking and gawked at Yuna. She heard a few whistles and Dona's sharp intake of breath.
"WOW! Yuna you look fantastic!!" Wakka exclaimed, giving her a quick hug.
Yuna reddened a little. " Thanks Wakka. "Can I get a hug too?"Zev joked.
"Where's Rikku?" Yuna asked quickly.
"I think she went to the bathroom or something." Wakka said solemnly.
Seymour was staring hard, very hard at Yuna. He seemed to be very, very angry.
"She cleaned up pretty nice, huh Tidus? Things going good for you, huh?" Seymour said testily, winking at Tidus, who looked really uncomfortable.
'What's that all about?' Yuna wondered. She turned towards Dona, who was looking at her with such hatred that Yuna flinched and stepped back.
" So our championship game's next week. You gonna come support us Yuna? We're gonna end the season undefeated." Jumal boasted.
" We'll crush Kilika High, they got nothin." Wakka added.
" Sure I'd love to go to a blitz ball game." Yuna said, a little taken aback by the invite. She'd never actually been to a school game before.
" It's going to be pretty huge. A lot of people will be there, tickets will sell out fast, but I'll get you a ring-side seat." Tidus said to Yuna, winking at her. She could have sworn she heard Dona actually snarl.
" So you having a good time, Yuna?" Seymour asked happily. Tidus eyed him suspiciously.
" Yeah, I'm glad Tidus invited me." Yuna said wearily, wanting to get away from Dona. She tugged lightly on Tidus's arm.
" I'm not glad. I don't know why Tidus brought you here. No one else wants you here." Dona spat angrily. Tidus flashed Dona an angry look and Yuna inhaled sharply.
"I sure as hell want her here. She's real easy on the eyes. And she's got some kind of glow about her." Jumal said. There was a small murmur of agreement. Yuna blushed at the compliment.
" Don't be a bitch, Donnie. I like her here too." Seymour said, flashing a smile at Yuna, who looked at him in shock. Dona turned her murderous look on Seymour. She looked ready to explode at any minute.
Tidus shot him a look. 'What was he up to? Suddenly being nice to Yuna?' Tidus thought.
" We'll check you guys later okay?" Tidus quickly pulled Yuna away from a fuming Dona and a leering Seymour.
A upbeat pop song came on. " You wanna dance Yuna?" Tidus asked loudly over the music.
"Sure!" He pulled her out towards a open space in the center of the room where some people were dancing. They picked a spot and began to move to the music.
"That was scary over there." Yuna said to Tidus.
"Huh?"
" I said it was scary!!" She yelled.
" Oh yeah. Tell me about it. Dona looked like she was going to pop a blood vessel."
Yuna laughed at wrapped her arms around Tidus, beginning to enjoy herself finally.
One hour later........
Yuna sat on a couch with Rikku, a beer in her hand, which she had not drank. Whenever she would put it down, another was pressed into her hand, so she just decided to hold it to be left alone. Rikku was wearing a pink ribbed halter top dress.
" I'm glad I finally dragged you away from Tidus. I had to pry you away. It was so cute. He's so into you." Rikku gushed.
" I'm so happy right now Rikku!! We just like danced for like six songs straight, and Dona and the other cheerleaders just stared the whole time. Dona, jealous of me, can you believe that? Even when we stopped dancing and went to eat something she kept staring. It's so pathetic." Yuna searched the crowded living room for any sign of Dona. Sure enough, she was by the kitchen door, staring...but this time at Tidus, who was talking with a large group of guys outside on the patio.
" Well, at least it's a temporary release." Yuna said, staring at her drink.
"So you really like the new Yuna so far?" Rikku asked. Eating from a large bowl of corn nuts on the coffee table in front of them.
" I'm still kinda overwhelmed by it all, Rikku. But I want to thank you again for making this stuff for me. I never thought this was where I'd be you know? It's weird."
"Remember what we talked about a long time ago? About getting your first kiss from Tidus? Well, from the way he's been looking at you tonight Yunie, you'll probably get much more than that!" Rikku laughed at Yuna as she turned bright red and tried to hit her with a pillow on the coach.
" Remember those tips I gave you on making out and stuff." Rikku said .
She squealed as Wakka came behind the coach and scooped her in his arms.
" You mind if I borrow Rikku for a while Yuna?" Wakka said as Rikku wrapped her arms around his neck and started kissing his face.
"Sure, I'll see you guys later." Yuna said, and Wakka carried a giggling Rikku off somewhere. A small feeling of envy hit Yuna. She was happy for them, and wished she could be as happy as that too. Tidus's smiling face popped in her mind. She got up, deciding to look for him.
An angry rock song was playing loudly, and Yuna got a strange sense of foreboding. She began weaving her way through teenagers, remembering she'd last seen him outside on the patio. An older guy, maybe in his early 20's, pulled her a little to the side. His breath smelled like cheese and Fritos. Yuna gagged.
"Baby, if you were words on a page, you'd be what they call FINE PRINT!" He said, licking his greasy lips at Yuna. She pushed him away and quickly opened the patio doors, feeling self conscience again as guys leered and stared at her. She heard whistles and cat calls as she pushed through the crowd. In her mind, it was the same as when they would tease her before she had her make over. She felt the same. Low and uncomfortable. She didn't have Tidus with her to scare them away. She didn't have Rikku to laugh in their faces. These people weren't her friends. She just wanted to find Tidus and get away from here. She walked out unto the patio. She didn't see anyone she knew at all. She swatted away a large hand belonging to a drunk college student and moved quickly.
She walked over to the pool, but Tidus was no where in sight. The music seemed to get louder and the crowd rowdier. She looked over at the other side of the pool. Three guys were barfing into it.Yes, she wanted to leave. Right now. She turned around again. Dona, and her entire bitch squad were surrounding her.
" So freak, decided to play dress up and hang out with the popular people?" She said nastily.
" I'm here with Tidus." Yuna said quietly. What she didn't see was Rikku and Tidus watching the scene from the other side of the patio and trying to fight their way through the gawking crowd to get to her.
"So you're his latest slut. You wont last long. Who the hell do you think you are? Coming here, like you're someone that matters. You're nothing. You don't belong here. Your just a poor, pathetic charity case. You're just a piece of white trash."
There was a large group of people watching the whole scene. Dona had a dark drink in her hand. She promptly dumped it down Yuna's dress. The dress that she and Rikku and worked so hard on.
"Oops, I'm soooo sorry freak." Dona said cruelly, laughing. The rest of the bitch squad joined it.
Yuna gasped and tried to hold back tears.
" What's the matter, you gonna cry?" Dona said condescendingly, laughing harder.
On a angry sob, Yuna pushed Dona towards the pool. There were two cheerleaders directly behind Dona, and they all fell into the pool together.
Yuna ran blindly through the crowd, pushing people through, running towards the backyard of the house where no one else was. She would realize later that she had earned a lot of respect from most of the people at that party that night. No one ever did anything like that to Dona.
Tidus finally made his way through the crowd. He had watched the whole scene and had not been able to get over in time. He should have never left her alone. This was all his fault.
"Which way did she go?" He asked no one in particular. A few fingers pointed north and he headed off in that direction. A wet and very pissed Dona climbed out of the barf infested pool. A very pissed and overprotective Rikku promptly ran over and punched Dona hard in the eye, knocking her back into the pool. Gatta, the school photographer, ran over, snapping pictures.
" You stupid bitch! Stay away from Yunie!!!" Rikku grabbed for Dona, but Wakka dragged her away kicking and cursing in al bhed.
Seymour watched the whole scene from a distance. Suddenly Dona didn't seem so hot to him anymore. Maybe he should set his sights on someone else. Someone like Miss Yuna Whatever-her-last-name-was.
Tidus, with a towel in his hand, walked for about 2 minutes till he came towards a small area with white wicker furniture. A large gazebo was in the center, with green ivy and red flowers all over it. The full moon looked very large and bright out here, in this spot. It seemed to shine extra brightly, and Tidus could see pretty good. It was completely silent. He heard a loud sob and looked around. Yuna sat on a large white wicker swing. She looked up at him. Her beautiful eyes were red and puffy, and her makeup had run. The whole front of her dress was soaked, and she was shivering. She looked so vulnerable. He wished he could hold her and protect her from all the evil Dona's of the world. He hated seeing her in pain, it ate at his insides. His heart felt heavy and he felt like promising her anything to see her smile again.
There were still tears falling down her face. He walked over and sat next to her, giving her the towel. She wiped her face, and began to blot her dress.
They sat in silence for a little bit, watching the bright stars and the moon look down at them. Everyone else seemed a million miles away. The only sound was their breathing. A strange mystical feeling of peace washed over him. Like he was floating in a clear sky, free of worries and thoughts. He knew it was because she was near.
"She is jealous of you Yuna. All of them. They don't matter." Tidus said, facing forward.
" .....She was right. I don't belong there. Even I myself was thinking I didn't want to be there. I was wishing I could be back in my room or at the coffee house or.." her voice faltered and she stopped talking for a minute.
"All those people…only spoke to me because I was with you...because I looked the way I looked. I just don't know what I'm supposed to be Tidus. I try to figure it out for myself, and then when I think I know, someone else, like Dona, tells me something different. It shouldn't bother me, but it does...I know I'm not making any sense..." She lowered her head down.
"No. You're making so much sense it scares me." He told her passionately. She looked up at him, surprised. His blue eyes seemed to glow in the moonlight.
" I have people all the time telling me what I should be. But what makes you a stronger person than me Yuna, is that you only listen to yourself, don't change that now. I get myself sucked into all kinds of stuff that I don't want, all because its what others expect of me. I admire you for that Yuna, you wanted to show yourself to the world, even though you get treated badly by it. You faced the people who tormented you for years. If I was as brave as you, I wouldn't have the problems I have now."
She looked at Tidus for moment, seeing him differently. She didn't know someone like him would have the same types of problems as her.
" Like what?"
"Well…My old man's is always setting impossible standards for me and pushing me. I always feel like I have to prove myself worthy of being his son, even to other people. Every since my mom's death, Jecht's tried to turn me into him, or something. I don't understand him."
"So he wants you to be in the pros like him?"
" Oh yeah. I do plan on going pro blitz, but I wanna go to college too, get a degree. I'm about the only guy on the team who actually wants to play college ball before pro."
"There's nothing wrong with wanting to go to college Tidus, I mean its actually quiet silly that your Dad looks down at it. I sent out of a couple of applications myself. But I really wanna be a singer.."
" Is that so?"
Yuna blushed and smiled a bit. " ….You see me and Rikku have it all planned out. I'll be a famous singer, and she'll me my manager slash clothing designer slash agent. On top of that she plans on being a actress. The girl is really something else. But yeah, I have all these songs I've written, with music and everything, I have my stage name, and…."
Tidus listened to Yuna speak, bemused. The moonlight shined gently, illumining her face in a soft white light. Her hair haled around her smiling face, giving her a angelic appearance, like she was not of this world. Her eyes lite up extra bright as she talked about her greatest passion.
She caught him staring intently at her and blushed.
" I'm sorry. Listen to me just ramble on and on about myself. You must think I'm-"
" A beautiful, passionate, wonderful person." Tidus said softly. He smiled at her lazily.
Suddenly the weird, mystical feeling he got whenever he was around her increased. He sighed and leaned against the swing, kicking with his feet to put it in motion. He yawned and casually place his arm around Yuna, who snuggled closer to him. He never thought doing something as simple as sitting with a girl could make him feel so…content. At ease. Everything else was on a different planet.
" Look Tidus!" Yuna pointed towards the bright night sky. A white star shot across it.
" I've never seen anything like that before. It's really amazing. I wonder how something like that could actually exist you know? It's incredible."
" I know." Tidus said, not referring to the shooting star. With hooded eyes he leaned in closer to Yuna, who turned her head away from the sky back towards Tidus, and, to her surprise, met his waiting lips.
Her eyes widened, but she closed them and leaned in closer to him. She prayed she wouldn't mess the kiss up, she'd had no practice. He pulled her closer to him and gently pried her lips open with his own.
A wave of heat and dizziness swept over her. She felt aware of nothing else but Tidus at this moment. Of his scent, his arms around her, the feel of the muscles of his back as her hands moved up and down it. She'd had nothing to compare it to, but all kissing couldn't be like this, it couldn't feel so…. perfect. After a long moment, he pulled away a little.
She blushed hotly, breathing a little hard. The intensity in his eyes matched her own. Whenever she looked into them, she always got a surge of emotions. She wondered if it was the same for him. " I'm new at this stuff…I…Rikku gave me some tips on kissing and…"
Yuna felt her whole face and neck turn red. Why had she said that? She was such a dork.
He gave her a boyish grin. "It's okay, I'm willing to teach you. Just letting you catch your breath."
" Oh of course. Blitz players can hold their breaths a lot longer than most other people."
" I can do a lot of things much longer than other people."
Their lips met again. He didn't want to push it too far and scare her off, but he wasn't sure how much self control he had, especially with her hands roaming curiously all over his chest and her tongue exploring in his mouth. She must have gotten some "tips" from Rikku about a couple of other things as well. Hearing a little moan of wonder from her, he decided to push his luck. He moved over a little, pulling her along. She took the bait, and now sat astride his lap. The swing moved some, rocking them back and forth. He let her control the kiss, finding her untutored exploration of him endearing. Sensing her uncertainty in herself because of his lazy response to her, he took full control of the kiss once more and plunged his tongue into her mouth. He knew he was maybe going too fast for her, but he'd been wanting to kiss her like this for weeks now, and she didn't seem to have a problem with it. Deciding to test his luck again, he moved his hands from around her hips up higher-
" AHEM!!"
Tidus reluctantly turned his head from Yuna to look up at their intruder. Barthello stared at them with an annoyed look on his face.
" I'm sick of finding couples hiding all over my place and making out. You're the forth one I've found. The party ended an half hour ago, GET OUT!!"
Barthello watched the giggling couple run away like bandits hand in hand. He returned to his house grumbling, as his parents were returning early and no one had stayed to help clean up.
Tidus pulled up in his car next to the little shop, around 12:54 am. He turned towards Yuna, turning the music down on his radio. They had rode the way home in silence, but not an awkward one. He had steered with his left hand and held Yuna's with his right the whole time. He wasn't a sappy holding hands sort of guy, but he liked holding hers. Touching her, even in the slightest way, made him feel…complete.
"Yuna…I wanted to ask you something…."
She looked up at him, a soft glow on her face. " Yes…"
" I really like you Yuna. You're so kind, and brave. You have this mysterious side to you, its what drew me to you in the first place. I wanted to get inside the Pandora's box of Yuna Lescing. And now that I have, I don't wanna leave."
Yuna looked at him eagerly. He shook his head. " No, not in this cramped car."
"Huh?" She questioned, confused. He opened his door and got out, then walked over to the passenger side and helped her out. They walked over to the doors of the shop. She looked up and could see the lights of her mom's room on. Hopefully she wasn't watching them.
She looked up into Tidus's face. His usual cocky grin was gone, and he looked at her intently. Remembering their kiss earlier, she blushed slightly.
"I… I've been with a lot of girls before you Yuna, I won't lie about that. I haven't known you very long, and maybe I'm jumping too fast and hard, But when I'm with you…there's no comparison. You're on a whole other level... I want you to be my girl. Not just casual dating here and there and see other people kinda girlfriend, but really my girlfriend. We don't have to go to any more of those stupid parties anymore if you don't want to…"
Yuna blinked rapidly to keep from crying stupidly. The most popular guy in school had just asked her not only to go out, but to go out exclusively. Just a few months ago she'd been alone and lonely. And now she had a best friend, a new look and a…a boyfriend. She liked the sound of that. She had a guy!
" Yes!! Of course I'll be your girl.." Yuna wrapped her arms around Tidus, jumping up and trying to kiss him, missing his mouth and catching his chin. He laughed and swung her around a few times, silencing her playful protests with a long kiss.
Another star shot across the sky, but neither noticed, lost in each other's embrace.
End chapter 5
Next chapter preview- Yuna's new look and guy turns her rep in school around completely. How will she deal with her growing popularity? And how will Tidus deal with the growing problem of Seymour, who has suddenly taken an interest in all things Yuna?
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