Disclaimer: Can you really get in trouble for not writing a disclaimer? Does anybody really know?
An: I have nothing else to say, just wanted to be annoying and just waste your precise time before you actually get to the chapter. lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala
Chapter 9- How to win her back
Part One - Plan A- the sexy macho man approach
April 17th, Saturday. Mushroom Rock Mall, 10:18 am . . .two weeks to prom, three to graduation. Wakka, Rikku, and Tidus have all gotten together in the mall food court to discuss strategies, while Yuna waits in a nearby store, unaware of what is going on. Both Tidus and Yuna have been miserable, but Yuna still refuses to even speak to Tidus. Its time for a new approach. . . .
Tidus did his best to block out the loud music and voices of passing shoppers as he listened to his step sister.
". . . So you need to be firm, manly with her. Demand she take you back. Pure on the charm and sex appeal." Rikku said, mouthful of onion rings.
" Yeah, you're a real expert on sex appeal right now, Rikku." Tidus said, snickering at Rikku, who was cramming food into her mouth faster than she could finish swallowing it. Wakka, who sat across from Tidus, frowned and shook his head, disagreeing with the advice.
" No, look blondy . . you gotta be like, sensitive. Show her your ah. . .softer side, ya? Fake, I mean show real interest in things she likes and stuff."
Rikku snorted in disagreement.
" What if she comes out of that dress shop you left her in Rikku and sees us sitting here together?" Tidus whined, munching on his giant pretzel. Rikku kicked the cheap mall table they sat at in frustration.
" I gave her a lot of dresses to try on. It took a lot of begging from me to convince her just to come out of the house today. She really didn't wanna try on prom dresses, but I convinced her. She's not going to prom, But I told her it's fun to try on nice things, so she came. Anyway, when I left just now I told her I had to use the bathroom, she's still in that store." Rikku took a long drink from Wakka's cola.
" You don't think she'll get suspicious? We've been out here like fifteen minutes already." Wakka asked, watching the entrance to the dress store nervously. The mall was extra crowded and loud today. If she did come out, they could still get away, maybe.
"No, she's been real distracted lately." Rikku said knowingly, staring at Tidus, who was looking off into space. While he was daydreaming, she stole a few sips of his root beer.
" Anyway, Tidus. I'm a girl, so I know what girls what. You just grab her and kiss her doubts away, its just that simple." Rikku said matter-of- factly. Wakka quietly absorbed the information, remembering it for the next time he pissed Rikku off.
" Isn't that kind of tacky? I can't do that. I want to, but I need to talk to her sincerely-" Tidus began.
" No, she won't listen to you if your crying on your knees. This breakup has gone on long enough. She wants go you back, but you need to get in her face and prove yourself! Use some force. Staring at her with puppy eyes in school everyday is not gonna get her back."
Rikku stood slightly up, getting more into her speech.
" No girl wants some guy crying over her everyday! I mean come on, no chick wants a wimpy guy. You gotta just take charge!!" Rikku insisted.
Tidus scratched his head. He wasn't so sure if that was a good idea, but it was more than what he had planned. Rikku stood up and walked over to Tidus, pulling him by his blue jacket out of his chair.
Wakka stood up.
" Whoa! Wait a minute, he can't just charge in there like that, he has to be sincere, it's only gonna make things worse, he needs to beg for forgiveness, again-"
Rikku shot a dirty look towards Wakka, and spoke again as if her boyfriend had never spoken at all. She turned Tidus around, towards the dress shop where Yuna was.
" Now go in there, and pour on your mojo!!" She grunted, shoving Tidus forward.
" My mo-what?"
" Dammit, you in there Tidus, and win back that girl! You've lost the first half of the game, but go in strong so she doesn't know what hit her, while her defense is down and she thinks she's got the game won. Change strategies!!."! Rikku clapped her hands happily, ignoring the stares from people walking by.
"Yeah!" Tidus yelled, feeling adrenaline flow through him.
" She's your girl. You have every right to go in there and take what's yours. And she won't say no, why would she? She's yours !It's what she really wants anyway. Believe me I know!! " Rikku yelled, jumping in place. Wakka's eyes darted from Tidus to Rikku and back again. He tried to hide his face, embarrassed by the many stares they were getting. If he didn't know any better he'd swear they really were brother and sister.
" Yeah!!"
Tidus jerked up, flared his nostrils, flexed his pecks and marched over towards the dress shop. Yeah, he'd just take his girl back. Dammit! He added a slight limp to his step, in full strut pimp mode.
Rikku watched him walk in, full of machismo and bravado. A large pit formed in her stomach slowly. She'd made a mistake.
" That was a bad idea huh, sweetie?" She asked her boyfriend, watching Tidus's retreating back.
" Ya. Really bad." Wakka agreed. " He shouda went wit my plan."
Elsewhere. . .
Humming softly to the cheesy classical music playing softly over the speaker, Yuna stared at the large yellow plant sitting on the shelf, ignoring the clerks eyeballing her. She just hated preppy stores like this. Why again had she let Rikku drag her here? She could have stand home and enjoyed her Saturday off. She focused on the plant again.
The plant had green stems, and long, banana-like yellow blossoms that sprung out at the top, in a complete, beautiful mess. Just like his hair. . .She sighed a little. She'd used to sit in his lap, and play in his yellow flop of hair, run her fingers through it, trying to smooth it down. It'd always be so soft, considering he was a guy and all. It would always stick straight back up again, so she'd give up and ruffle his hair again, amid his playful protests.
She giggled, running her fingers through the blossoms, giggling louder imagining his hair there. It was the most beautiful color in the world. She could see his grinning face now, winking at her.
She was snapped out of her weird delusion by the whispers of the store clerks.
" Why is she molesting that plant?" One of the store clerks, the taller one, who was watching her from a few feet away whispered to the short one.
Yuna gasped, blushed and wiped her hands on her jeans. She would just block out that little episode. Whistling nervously, cheeks flaming, she looked around the store, no one, besides the clerks, was around. Yuna glanced outside the shop door in the mall, a lot of people were walking by. There was a small crowd gathered around, and slowing down to stare at something. They seemed to be laughing or watching someone or something in the food court. Where was Rikku anyway? She'd said she was going to the bathroom and hadn't come back yet. At least around Rikku, her mind didn't wander so much. Yuna didn't even wanna be here, she'd only agreed because Rikku had made it seem like it was oh so important. Rikku had been acting weird the whole day, like she was up to something.
"Ahem, are you going to try anything on. . .miss." The short clerk's voice dripped with barely concealed annoyance.
" Ahh, yeah. . .this." Yuna grabbed the closest thing, a tacky, short purple dress and dove into the nearest dressing room, ignoring the disgusted whispers from the snotty clerks.
Yuna closed the little door behind her, put the dress on a hook and sighed. Why was she even trying on dresses? She wasn't going to prom. Rikku had told her it would be fun, and she'd agreed. But that was before the girl had just taken off on her. She had to get her mind of Tidus. It just wasn't healthy. Yuna began pulling her clothes off, and slid into the gaudy dress. Just a few more weeks. She walked over to the mirror. The dress was backless, sleeveless, and if she bent over, her rear would be bared to the world. She also had more cleavage showing then covered. She laughed for the first time in a while.
" This is definitely a Dona dress." Yuna said out loud.
She heard some voices outside the dressing room. Those clerks were speaking to someone. Maybe Rikku had come back. She walked over to the mirror, twisting her face into an angry scowl, doing her best Dona impression. She even added a few head swivels and said in a whiney, annoying voice;
"Like, don't you know who I am? Don't come near me, you poor person!"
She shook her head back and forth, then giggled. Absently, she thought about what he would think if he saw her in this dress. He'd go wild. Or just laugh. Or both.
" Don't think about him!" She snapped loudly to her reflection. Humming, she walked over to a fancy picture on the wall, of a garden. She really wanted to forgive him, but Tidus didn't even try to explain himself, not after that day they broke up. He would just stare at her in school. Why didn't he approach her ever? No, she didn't want that.
She heard the door open quietly behind her. Rikku. It was about time. Yuna smiled and turned around.
"Rikku, take one look at this tacky dress. What comes to mind-"
Yuna froze midsentence, her eyes meeting deep blue ones. Tidus. What the hell was he doing here? How had he. . . .
Rikku, had she sent this up? She'd kill her. But she couldn't worry about Rikku right now. She had to get out of this mess. She'd been doing so well in avoiding him, and now she was alone with him, in a dressing room!
" A lot of things come to mind, mainly one though. . ." He said softly, eyes dark. He closed the door behind him. Yuna whimpered loudly. Great. She'd forgotten how very attractive he was, or tried to forget, anyhow. Why was he looking at her like that? Like she was prime rib? Why was he walking towards her like that? Was he strutting?
" What do you think you are doing here?" She snapped, backing away from her advancing ex.
" Think real hard about it." He said, laughing.
" What has gotten into with you?" She said softly, not wanting the clerks outside to catch on to him being in here, and a huge scene being made.
" I want you back, and so, I'm just taking you." He said arrogantly. He continued to advance on Yuna till she was against a wall.
He pinned both arms on either side of her so she couldn't get away. She turned red, seeing the look in eyes and lowering her own. Who did he think he was, just charging in here and demanding her! She'd just tell him about himself. Wow. He smelled really good.
' Dammit, Yuna Lescing, focus here!' She thought to herself.
" I don't know what you think your doing here, but-"
" I know you want me too, so why deny it, just come back with me and we can figure out the other stuff later-" He said in a frustrated voice, pressing his forehead against hers. Boy, was it ever hot in here.
" Get out!" Yuna said loudly.
". . .no."
She tried shoving against his chest with her hands, and she felt a jolt run through her.
' Yevon, has he been working out more? I don't remember his pecks being this hard! Think pure thoughts, think pure thoughts. . .' Yuna repeated in her head.
" Why won't you just come back? I know you still want me." He said arrogantly. She made a silly noise as he leaned in and started kissing her neck.
' He's never acted like this before when we were dating!'
" Tidus. . ." Yuna whimpered in a broken voice, but he ignored her. What the hell was going on here? It had to be just some dirty dream she was having. She was not making out with her ex in a lady's dressing room in a extremely crowded mall. No, this wasn't helping anything. They were broken up.
She gently, and reluctantly, pried his blonde head from her neck. Tidus looked at her with dark eyes.
" I don't know-"
He caught her open mouth with his before she could object. Yuna gave in and kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck, unable to help herself. Living for the moment couldn't be so bad right?
Lost in each other, neither heard the door to the dressing room open.
Meanwhile . .
Rikku nervously twitched in her chair. Both she and Wakka stared at the entrance to the store. They'd been watching it nervously for a while now.
" You think it's okay?" Wakka asked.
" . . .maybe they made up already. . ." Rikku said brightly.
" Or maybe not." Wakka said flatly. Blondy should have listened to him.
Rikku bit her lip. " Maybe I should-"
Loud screams erupted from the small store, stopping everyone who walked by in their tracks. Suddenly Tidus, bright red and bemused, was ushered out of the store by two angry clerks.
" I have never been so outraged in all my life in fine retail!! First of all, a man in a woman's dress room is against the law!! Second, what you were doing in there!-" The tall clerk, on Tidus's left snapped.
" Der, I wanted to feel if the dress she had on was 100 percent cotton?. . ." Tidus said lamely.
" You are banned from this store forever! And once your little. . . once that. . . that woman is dressed, she is banned too!" The short one on the right snarled. Tidus walked toward Wakka quickly, red faced still, but with a slight grin on his face.
" We better get outta here. . .Yuna's pretty pissed off." Wakka nodded grimly, and preceded to take off into a sprint with Tidus, both giggling like children. Rikku watched Tidus and Wakka run off in bemusement, then caught sight of a livid, tussled looking Yuna being escorted out of the store. A small crowd had gathered to gawk. Great. Yuna's face was bright pink with anger and her hair was messed up.
" Maybe if your stupid dressing rooms had locks on them, he wouldn't have gotten in. And why did you just let him walk in anyway!! He's a man!" Yuna yelled. She glared angrily at the passer-byers who had stopped to glare in fascination. Didn't they have shopping to do or something?
" Don't blame your. . .deplorable behavior on us! He told us he was trying on a dress!! We get male clients with. . .special requests like that sometimes. Anyhow, you are banned forever! You're lucky I don't have you arrested! You. . .loose woman! " The short clerk snapped, and they both stormed back into the store. Yuna looked around the crowd, glaring daggers at everyone, and spotted a tall skinny blonde, trying to sneak through the gathering crowd of gawkers. Rikku! The betrayer! This was all her fault! If not for her, she wouldn't have ended up making out with her ex in a public place like an animal in heat. Yuna pushed her way through the many nosy people. Didn't they have anything better to do then to watch her chase her best friend, who was currently running a full sprint to the side exit doors? And where did that jerk Tidus go? She'd worry about him later. No, she wouldn't worry about him. That was half the problem right there. How could she just lose control like that? He was a jerk. What the hell had she been thinking? It wasn't like her at all. Why had she agreed to this stupid trip anyway? And where had Rikku learned to run so fast?
" Rikku! You come back here right now!"
Yuna took after Rikku, not noticing Gatta, school gossip reporter, who watched from afar, jutting down the whole thing in his notebook. He'd also snapped a few shots with his camera of Yuna chasing Rikku and Tidus and Wakka running away, unnoticed in the melee.
" This is gonna look great in the school yearbook!" He said to himself happily, whistling. He was always in the right place at the right time.
Ten minutes later. . .Tidus is driving on the freeway, headed home, after escaping from the mall. . .incident.
" Wow, that was a disaster . . ." He mumbled, stopping at a red light.
" You can say that again, brotha. I wonder how Rikku is doing. We shouldn't have left her." Wakka said, shaking his head in bemusement.
Tidus frowned. " I don't know what came over me. I just came in the dressing room, and she was wearing this weird tacky dress. But she looked. . .well anyway, all my thoughts went south, and I just basically mauled her. . ."
The light turned green and Tidus stepped on the gas.
" And?" Wakka pressed.
" Saving all the details, before it went to far, one of the clerks walked in. . . and then the other one came over. . .They flipped out!"
Wakka laughed. " So that was that yelling we heard!"
Tidus grinned. " Actually, first the clerks yelled, then Yuna yelled, then I yelled. It was great. Yuna swore, just about every dirty word known in Spira in under thirty seconds, it was wild, she never swears. Then she and the snobby clerks kicked me out of the dressing room. She told me she was going to kill me. They demanded Yuna take off the dress she was wearing, and they kicked me out of the store. There was a lot of people standing around. I hope no one we know saw what happened.
" Nay, you can't be that jinxed." Wakka said, laughing.
" But your not, upset man? I mean, you blew it again."
Tidus's face sunk as it slowly dawned on him how crazy what he'd just done was. "I shouldn't have done that. I need to be sincere with her, now she really must hate me. She must think I'm just using her. . .yevon, what am I gonna do now? I just made it ten times worst."
Now he was never going to get her back.
"It failed because you didn't go with my plan. You have to be really sensitive, grovel if you have to. Especially after today. And show more interest in things she likes. Like tonight, she's singing at Yevon's Café right? Just go there. I mean, its worked months ago right, why not again?" Wakka asked.
" . . . Yeah she is. And I do. I do gotta show a more sensitive side. . ." Tidus said softly, brainstorming. This plan wouldn't backfire on him. . .hopefully
Part Two - Plan B- the sensitive thespian approach
Later on. . .Yevon's Café. . . 10:06pm. . . .
Yuna poked her head through the black curtain. There were maybe at least forty or fifty people jammed into the dark smoky room. Mostly kids from the local college. She went on right after the guy performing now. She played a few notes on her guitar, the one he'd given her, to make sure it was right. She'd tried a million times to just smash it, but she could never bring herself to do it. Tonight she was going to do an angry song about how stupid guys could be sometimes. . . Especially him. The nerve of him!!! To come into her dressing room and. . .
Yuna blushed at the vivid memory and began to pace behind the stage. She'd just let him kiss her and had responded back like she'd been starving for weeks. Why was she still so very very attracted to him. What a huge mess. And not to even think about her public humiliation. She'd been so mortified when those lame jerk clerks had walked in, and she'd been kicked out of that stupid store. She'd chewed out Rikku, after having to chase her around for a while. Of course, the girl who had been oh so quick to apologize about the whole thing. She'd even brought her dessert. Afterwards, Yuna had come home to cool down.
She had taken her mother's car up here alone to the café, and had warned Rikku to keep Wakka and Tidus, and her blonde self away tonight. She couldn't deal with anymore plotting. She needed time to think alone. No, she didn't want time to think. That was why she was here in the first place, to distract herself. Yuna was finding herself not so angry at Tidus lately the more she thought about what he did , and it scared her. Maybe it had been just a mistake. But what if he'd never told her? And what was that whole dressing room thing about? Was he just playing mind games with her? Maybe Tidus was just trying to sleep with her. But that couldn't be true, because he'd had plenty of times he could have tried that when they were dating, but he had never pressured her. She just couldn't figure him out at all. It would kill her. Yuna sighed heavily, standing up when she heard her name being called.
The instant she walked on the small dark stage, there was complete silence. She walked quickly to the small stool. Yuna knew he was there. Her senses were on high alert, and her heart beat faster. She could just feel him, somewhere in the dark room, staring at her. Why couldn't he leave her alone? Did he think she was just going to jump into his arms again? What did he want from her? She sat down on the black stool, and began to sing. Surprising herself, she didn't mess up once during her slow angry guy bashing song. In fact, it was the best she'd sang in weeks. When she was done, she got a semi finger snapping ovation, which was really good, considering half the people in the audience were either stoned or considered themselves to cool to show any emotion.
" Thank you everyone."
She quickly stood and made her way off stage, moving gingerly through the crowd, taking a seat with Lulu and some of her goth friends from school.
" That was really good. One day you'll be singing in front of millions." Lulu said nodding in approval. Yuna didn't respond, deep in her own thoughts.
'Maybe Tidus didn't see where I went to sit down, it's pretty dark in here. I can't even leave now, he's bound to see me and follow me outside.'. A nervous pit formed in her stomach. If she could just get through the last few weeks. . .maybe she could get home schooled the last bit or something. Fake an illness?
"Smoke?" One of the girls next to Yuna asked, offering her a cigarette and blowing smoke in her face.
Yuna coughed and declined. She watched the hostess walk on stage to introduce the next performer.
" This guy is a new performer to Yevon's. . .he's a senior in high school. Give it up for Tidus Akard!"
Yuna's head snapped up with force. " HUH?"
" Who's the nerd?" A muffled voice joked behind her.
Yuna watched frozen in shock, as Tidus walked unto the small stage. A spotlight was shined directly on him. Her mouth dropped lower.
He looked completely different. His hair was slicked back, matted down to his head. He was wearing . . Was it plaid? Plaid slacks, a button up white dress shirt and a tie. Ignoring the laughs from Lulu and her friends, Yuna stared open mouthed, blinking several times. She'd never seen Tidus in anything remotely formal. And his hair was combed. It was. . .scary. Where was the wild hair, tank and shorts, beach-kissed Tidus she feel in love with? And what was he doing here? Maybe she'd somehow entered a alternate reality or something. She put her head in her hands. Why did he keep messing with her? Was he trying to drive her insane?
Ignoring the snickers, Tidus took the microphone from the hostess and stared out into the dark crowd.
It had taken two hours to get Tidus transformed into a "sensitive guy" as Wakka had put it. They had brought some preppy clothes and used globs of gel to keep his hair from popping back up. Sensitive guys didn't have spiky hair right? Tidus had walked out of his room, and walked past his father, who had been watching tv in the living room. Jecht had dropped the beer he'd been holding in his hand after catching sight of his son. For the first time ever, he had rendered Jecht Akard speechless. A priceless moment.
He had then gone into the garage and pulled out his old bike from when he was twelve, and hike it to the Café. A sensitive guy would respect the environment more and not drive around in a car all the time right?
He had to show Yuna his caring side, especially after mauling her in the mall today. Yevon. . .did he ever feel like a moron. Oh well. If it got Yuna back in his life, so be it. He stared out into the staring audience.
" Der. . .ah, I really didn't prepare anything." Snickers in the audience followed. He scratched his head, then jerked his hand back down, forgetting he out had globs of gel in his hair to keep it from popping back up again. Now he is hand was covered in guck.
" Oh shit. . .I mean. . .der, ah. . ." He spoke into the mike by mistake. Loud laugher, more this time, followed his outburst. No, he was supposed to be sensitive. Sensitive guys didn't swear right? Why had he let Wakka talk him into this? This was a really, really dumb idea.
" Well, my name is Tidus. I play blitz ball. I live in a giant estate, and I'm popular. I'm also the biggest loser in Spira. "
"Obviously." Someone yelled from the crowd. More snickers followed. Tidus blushed. He heard a female groan. Was it Yuna?
" I lost the greatest girl in the world, and I'm trying to get her back. . .I actually tried to write a poem, but nothing really rhymes with my girl's name but tuna, so that was out." Yet more laughter and whispers raced through the coffee house.
" And I need to apologize, especially after what I did today, and what I did before. I really miss her. So, I'm gonna try to sing a little, uh, like she does." Tidus cleared his throat. If any more blood rushed to his face due to his embarrassment, his face would explode. This was so stupid. But he was in too deep now. . .how was this posed to impress Yuna again? He should at least written better lyrics out. He'd gone home and starting writing, but he didn't have the talent for it.
" Okay, der. . . ahh. . .here goes. . ." Tidus said softly. The female groan from before got louder. Yuna? He cleared his throat.
" Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuna. I misssssssssssssssssss youuuuuuuuuu." The crowd erupted in loud laughter.
His voice was badly cracking and off key, but he didn't care. "Take me back pleassssssssssssssssssssse. Yuna Lescinggggggggggggg. You are my starrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. "
Some hair escaped the gel and popped back straight up atop his head, earning more laughs.
Tidus sang louder and more off key, to drown out the laughter erupting from the crowd. After another minute of his loud croaking, Tidus heard a very loud, angry shriek of humiliation he recognized as Yuna's, and finally spotted her in the dark crowd. She'd gotten up and was making a beeline for the exit doors. Great, he'd messed up again. He ran off stage and started pushing through chairs and people, ignoring the pats on the back and snide remarks he heard as he made his way out into the night, to the parking lot.
"Yuna!"
Tidus watched, heart dropping, as her car skidded off the lot, into the night. He closed his eyes, saddened. He needed to stop playing games. He heard footsteps behind him.
" We were hidden the whole time. She didn't see us. . ." Wakka said, a little out of breath from running after Tidus.
" But we saw, and heard you, step bro. That was terrible. What were you thinking?" Rikku scowled. She reached atop Tidus's head and smoothed his hair back down, and then made a face at all the gel left behind on her hands
" I wasn't. I'm desperate." Tidus whined.
" You should have-"
" Why don't you try'"
Wakka and Rikku began at the same time. Tidus shook his head furiously.
" No, no more plots. No more help. I need to do this from the heart." Tidus walked away from them, heading for his bike.
He knew what he had to do. And this time, it would be right.
Part 3- no more plans
Morning Monday. . .Yuna's house. . .Yuna prepares to leave for school. . . .
Yuna stuck her head under her bed, searching for her missing English paper that was due today. Her mind had been so frazzled lately. Especially after Saturday. Tidus had not approached her at all Sunday, and she hated admitting to herself that she wished he had. But maybe he didn't care anymore. She wanted to forgive him, but he didn't seem to be sincere at all. Today, she was going to hand in her assignments, and not go back to school the last few weeks. Faking an illness was easier than seeing him everyday. She just couldn't handle it anymore. It was like having her heart yanked in and out of her chest everyday. The best thing for her was not to see him anymore. She had distant family in Bevielle that she could stay with over the summer before she went off to school. She would give them a call later. She had to get far away from Tidus. It was the only way she could survive. She heard her bedroom door open and shut again.
"Mama?"
Yuna whirled around, coming face to face with him, again.
Tidus had his book bag slung over his shoulder. The stupid nerdy get up he' d had the other night was gone, and he was back to normal Tidus. He dropped his book bag down.
" Why did Mom let you in?" She snapped.
" I snuck in." Tidus replied. Yuna heard the shower running in the other room, where her mother was obviously. Why didn't she remember to lock the doors downstairs? Her mind was really gone lately.
" I don't know who you think you are, just breaking into-"
" I need to talk to you. Seriously this time." He said softly.
Inside Yuna's heart, she was happy that he was here, and this made her more angry. He kept paying mind games. She was going to be late for school. She couldn't keep doing this anymore. Something had to give. She started ripping into him.
" What is your deal? Why can't you just go away? Leave me alone!"
Tidus's face looked pensive and he ran a nervous hand through his hair.
" I can't. Don't you think I've tried? I think about you all the time Yuna. And I know it's the same for you. That's why I had to try-"
" Try what?" Yuna snapped, cutting him off. " Try some plan, some scheme, to get me back? Isn't a scheme the only reason you ever spoke to me in the first place?"
Tidus froze, not expecting that. She'd caught him on the raw. But she was right. All along, he'd been scheming to win her back. And that bet, that had been a scheme as well. A knot formed in his stomach. He sighed and sat down on a rocking chair nearby. He was messing things up again. Yuna walked over to her window, and stared out of it, watching a little boy walk his dog down the street.
"Why can't you stop plotting and pretending, and just be yourself? Just tell me honestly, the truth, whatever it is. What is it you want from me? Why do you have to keep appearing everywhere? Are you trying to destroy me? How important is that bet to you anyway?" Yuna breathed in harshly, tears escaping her eyes. Tidus hung his head, and silence stretched between them for a few minutes.
" It was basically, if I lost it, I'd stop playing blitzball, which was, at the time, the most important thing in my life."
She turned to look at him.
" I have been playing games with you, my whole life, until now, has revolved around a game, it's hard for me to think out of that context."
Tidus looked up, a solemn look on his face, and he sat up and walked towards her, taking her hand. He stared in her eyes and something passed between them, unspoken. She reluctantly let him lead her to her bed. They sat down together on it, and she pulled her hand away from his, with more force than necessary, folding her hands together in her lap. She stared up, at the paper moon and stars hanging from her ceiling. She risked a glance at him, he was looking up at the moon as well. They sat quietly for a minute. Yuna wasn't sure what was going on, but she sensed he was trying to tell her something important. She watched him rack his hands in his hair again. Then he spoke again.
" In sixth grade, we had the same social studies and music class. In seventh grade, you were in my gym class. In eighth grade, none."
She gasped softly and stared at the side of his face, but he wouldn't look at her. Tidus continued staring at the ceiling.
"In ninth grade, my art class and math class, and in tenth, my lunch period. We didn't have any of the same classes in eleventh, but your home room was on the same floor as mine. . ." He finished. He seemed to be bracing himself, expecting her to yell at him, or worse, laugh.
Yuna's eyes widened, she was shocked. ' You noticed me. . . then?"
He smiled a little, but still didn't look at her. " I always noticed you. I would watch people tease you, watch you alone. But you always stood up to them, or ignored them. You always seemed invincible, like nothing ever bothered you. That's why they harassed you so much, you didn't seem to care about what they thought, and it really irked them. You didn't need to please anybody, only yourself. I envied you. You didn't care what people thought of you, unlike me. I was always working to prove that I was worthy of being Jecht Akard's son, worthy of being popular. Worthy of being liked."
Tidus swallowed nervously for a moment, than started speaking again. Yuna stared at the side of his face, transfixed. She always known he'd been unhappy, but he had never gone this deeply into it before.
" I was depressed. My mother, who was my rock, the one person who was in my life at that time, that I felt like I didn't have to put any acts around, was gone. And I felt alone, even though I was surrounded by people. I didn't know who my real friends were. Were they with me because they liked me, or because of my status? And then I'd see you, a free spirit."
Yuna shook her head violently. " I wasn't free at all Tidus, you know that. It was an act to-"
Tidus looked at her directly for the first time since they'd sat down. His eyes were pained.
" Please, Yuna, this is kinda hard for me. . ." Yuna nodded, and watched him. He went back to staring up at the ceiling again.
" I remember that day in school. I had dated Dona over the summer, because it was expected that I do that. She was rich and had a powerful family, like me.. . . "
" In class that day. . .Seymour was bragging about, how Dona had dumped me, and that I wasn't so great. And me, always eager to prove myself worthy, boasted that I could make anyone popular, because of who I was. And then you walked in the classroom." His eyes returned to hers.
" In the back of my mind, I thought, please, please don't it be her. But then I got selfish. . .Finally, I could get close to you, and not be judged for it. For wanting to be with you." He admitted, expecting to see anger in Yuna's eyes, but surprisingly there was none.
" I could be with you, and keep my charade of popular, carefree Tidus going. . .but obviously that didn't work. And I was glad for it. You made me realize I didn't have to pretend to be what anybody else wanted. A fact that I forgot yesterday, obviously, when I went on stage at Yevon's. . . And in that store, I was putting on airs, but I had missed you so much, I thought I could just kiss you and you'd just take me back. I was so frustrated, I didn't know what to do. I couldn't stand you giving me the cold shoulder in school anymore. I knew, all those months that I had to tell you, the truth of how we ended up together. . .but I was scared. I'd have to admit that I lied to you, and that I was also a complete fraud. It took losing you to finally realize how much I need you, and how much I'd been lying to myself. And now I'm. . .just gonna put all my feelings on the table. . .I'm just gonna lay it all out there. . ."
He reached a hand out and cupped her chin gently, searching her eyes for a reaction. She seemed to be confused. He breathed in, sighing.
" I love you. "
He saw light dancing in Yuna's eyes at his words.
"And I know we're young. . .but feelings like this. . .I know they only happen once a lifetime. I can't let this be over between us. If we work through this. . .I'll always be sorry for hurting you. . . You're the best thing in my life, and I cant just let that go. . .Maybe I'm freaking you out. . . But I had to at least try. I-"
Tidus was silenced by two of Yuna's fingers covering his lips.
" Stop." There were tears falling softly down her cheeks, but she looked happy.
" There's something I need to confess too. . ."
His eyes widened, but he said nothing.
" I. . .had a crush on you. . .I used to watch you too. . .and we did have a class together in eleventh grade. . .we had music together, but I changed classes that first week of school. . ." Yuna smiled faintly, noting his surprised expression. He tried to speak, but she shook her head.
" It's my turn now. . ."
"Anyway, I. . . admired you. . . Everyone liked you. . .you were never mean to anybody. I wished, I could be like you. Have the pampered, rich life. Have so many friends. . .so many people wanting to be near you. . .I guess, we both had each other pegged wrong."
"And then, we started dating. I was on cloud nine. I just needed you so much. . . It scared me. We were so happy. I thought that someone like me didn't deserve to be so happy. I was actually expecting the other shoe to drop. And when it did, I kinda used it, as an excuse to get away from you. I was afraid of how intense my feelings were for you."
She cupped his face in her hands. " But I'm not afraid anymore Tidus, of anything. I've been fighting my feelings for weeks. Afraid to trust you, but. . .I do trust you. That's what scared me so much, I think, when I was avoiding you in school. I knew if you said the right words I'd be gone. But I believe you. I understand. I forgive you. And. . .I love you too. . ." She beamed at the elated expression of happiness on Tidus's face. He smiled ear to ear, standing up.
Yuna squealed loudly as he picked her up and spun her around.
" You've made me so happy Yuna. . .I-don't know what to say. . ."
He put her back down gently. Yuna laughed. She felt like she could actually feel her heart glowing.
" Don't say anything. . .just kiss me." Yuna smiled, her eyes dancing.
She didn't have to tell him twice. He pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her. When they stopped, she jammed her fingers in his hair, laughing at his weak complaints.
" Don't you dare object. . .You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this. . ." Tugging his head down, hands still full of hair, she pulled him in for another kiss.
After a few minutes, they pulled apart, just enough to speak.
"We still got a little school left, and a prom to go. . .and college. . .and those. . . Certain people. . ." Yuna said, a little breathlessly.
" I know what you're saying. We still have some loose ends. But we're together now, really together. And we can face anything head on." Tidus said cheerfully. He grinned stupidly. He was so happy. He felt like bursting into song. But Yuna might object to that, considering his bad vocals. Yuna grabbed his hand in hers, and swinging them together. She had a goofy, happy smile on her face.
" I feel like dancing and bursting into song. I'm so corny. . ." She gushed, and Tidus's heart flipped over. They were made for each other. Yuna's eyes were bright and dancing. She tugged on Tidus's jacket sleeve.
"Come on, Tidus. We have to go to school now. . . We are in a completion, remember? We have a couple of crowns to win!!" Yuna said, beaming. Tidus grinned and followed her downstairs. Yuna smiled at her mother, who was standing at the counter, helping a customer. Ariel looked surprise to see Tidus, but one look in her daughters eyes reassured her.
Yuna and Tidus walked outside together, ready to face their antagonists and the rest of the world. But for the first time in a while, they'd do it together.
End chapter
Next chapter - last chapter/ epilogue. . .Time to wrap up loose ends. It's prom and graduation time, what surprises lie in store for the newly reunited couple?.