This is the third chapter! Wow. I actually got up off my butt to start a new document. It was all thanks to my wonderful reviewers! I hope everyone likes it. I have been so busy and tired lately, so I'm sorry if I'm a little off. Pathetic excuse, I know, but it's true! You know how people say, "It's been one of those weeks," or, "It's been one of those days." Well, it's been "one of those months!" Hah...well, please review when you're finished reading.

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Summer Nights

Chapter Three:

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The early morning sun had yet to rise, and the sky was gray and only just starting to clear. Yuffie stood with her three friends, Aerith, Vanera, and Kairi, and looked at the neon green poster that hung on the office wall. The children woke up at six in the morning on the dot, meaning they had a half hour to themselves. Yuffie rubbed her eyes and tried to read the poster.

Attention Counselors:

We will be holding a party/meeting in honor of our new counselors, as well as the start of a whole new year at Camp Kaman. Beverages and snacks will be provided. We will be discussing different techniques to teach, games to play throughout the stay, and any technical issues that may arise. This will open up a whole new opportunity to meet and converse with other counselors and share stories amongst you. Of course this meeting will be completely optional, but keep in mind mandatory meetings will pop up from time to time. We highly recommend you attend, optional or not.

After the meeting half is over, there will be dancing around the campfire and perhaps a surprise or two.

Be there at 9:30 P.M, after lights out. It will end around 1:00 A.M. Yes, the curfew has been adjusted for this special party!

Your Head Instructor,

Sheryl

Yuffie rolled her eyes and mimicked Sheryl in the poster.

"This will be a great opportunity to meet and converse with other counselors. This is purely optional, not mandatory!" she said with a laugh.

Kairi gave her a little shove. "Hey, I like Sheryl. I practically grew up around her!"

"We know Kairi!" they all chorused together.

She crossed her arms and gave a little pout, blowing a strand of crimson red hair out of her eyes.

Vanera laughed and put a playful hand on her hip. "And what are you pouting about, Kai?"

"Just because I'm younger you guys pick on me!" she huffed.

"No, we definitely do not pick on you, Kairi," Aerith said and gave a warning glance at Yuffie and Vanera.

Yuffie tilted her head with a grin.

"Hey!" Vanera shouted suddenly. Yuffie turned around, confused.

"What?"

She noticed Vanera was waving to Sora, Riku, the blonde, and...

"Squall..." Yuffie breathed. Aerith touched her arm.

"You all right, Yuf?"

"Fine," she said quickly. She gave her another glance and nodded.

The four men came up to the four girls and faced them.

"Hey guys, what's with the crowd?" Sora asked.

"There's a poster up, something about a party," Vanera explained.

"A party? We are so there!" Sora said enthusiastically. He started to run to see the poster for himself when someone grabbed him by the collar of his counselor outfit.

"Hold it. Weren't you just saying how you had something to do tonight?" said a deep voice. Sora turned to look at Squall and swatted at his hand and was quickly rewarded with a death glare.

"Tonight? Yeah, but...that can wait..." Sora said, then his eyes lit up. "Oh YEAH!"

Riku crossed his arms and shook his head and muttered, "God, aren't you bright?"

Yuffie glared suspiciously. "What are you guys up to?"

Sora was quick to change the subject. A little too quick, in Yuffie's opinion.

"Hey, I never introduced my friends to you. This is Cloud," he said, and pointed to the spiky blonde with deep blue eyes, "And this is Sq—"

"Leon."

"Yeah, Leon Leonheart," Sora said with gusto.

Vanera raised her eyebrows. "Leon Leonheart? Uhh...I have to meet your parents."

"We've met," Yuffie stated.

"You have?" Sora said.

"On the way here, Leon rudely bumped into me and made me spill everything. He broke my chocolate!"

He narrowed his eyes. "I think you were the one that bumped into me."

"Are you accusing me of being a klutz?"

"No I wasn't, but now that you mention it—"

"That's enough, you two," Aerith cut in.

"But he—"Yuffie whined.

"Yuffie."

"I—"

"All counselors report to the cabins! Six o'clock! All counselors report to the cabins! Six o'clock!"

She heaved a sigh and they went their separate ways. She opened the door with force and it slammed into the outside wood, making a huge crashing sound.

Lexi raised her head sleepily from the pillow and rubbed her eyes. "Morning already?"

"Yes, rise and shine," Yuffie said bitterly.

"Come on, up, up, up!" Kairi sang.

Moans and groans came from beneath the covers.

"Have you guys forgotten already? We're going to swim all day at the lake today!"

Even more moans were heard.

Kairi threw off the blankets on their beds and clapped her hands. "I said up!"

Six tired children crawled out of bed and lazily shoved through the bathroom like in slow motion. They took their toothbrushes and started to brush their cheeks while missing their mouth.

Yuffie leaned over to Kairi. "What's up with the Gremlins?"

"I don't know. They're never this tired. What if they...what if they fall asleep in the lake, today?!"

"That won't happen. The water is freezing. I was thinking more along the lines of...what did they do last night?"

Kairi narrowed her eyes. "I don't know. See anything suspicious?"

They started hunting all around the room, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Shoved under one of the unused bunks was a bag full of glitter, tiny pom-poms, crepe paper, plastic jewels, paper, pencils, and glue sticks.

Yuffie pulled up the bag and walked into the bathroom, holding it high into the air.

"All right, you guys are busted. Whose is this and where did it come from?"

They all gave each other sideways glances.

"It's m-mine," Mai said softly.

"And what were you doing with it?"

"Making...crafts."

"When?"

"Last night."

"With who?"

"Everyone!" Mai burst out, her eyes full of sorry tears. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Yuffie sighed and gripped the bag in her hand. "I don't want to do this to you guys, but there will be no lake outing today. It was supposed to be hot and clear outside, too. But that shouldn't matter, because you didn't want to go to the lake a few minutes ago."

She exited the room and swept past Kairi onto the couch seat. She looked troubled.

"Don't you think you went kind of hard on them? Part of being at camp is breaking the rules and having fun," Kairi said.

"No I don't think I went hard on them at all. If they're going to go behind my back then they will have to be punished for it."

She sighed and sat next to her. "I guess you're right."

"I wonder what they were doing with all of that stuff?" Yuffie mused.

Kairi shrugged and wiped her forehead. "Oh Yuf, you just had to stop them from going to the lake! It is burning up here and it will be even hotter after lunch when they're supposed to go."

"You can go without us, and I'll watch the kids."

"I couldn't do that to you guys."

"Why not? Go ahead, Aerith and Vanera will be up there."

"Fine..."

Sullenly, the kids tracked down to the mess hall and ate breakfast of oatmeal and fruit. The morning passed by horribly slow, and by the time it was noon Yuffie could see the warm air rising.

From the window, Yuffie watched Kairi follow the trail to the crystal clear and cool lake. She sighed and turned to the girls who were talking and pairing off into groups. She never really noticed how much younger children paired off into little cliques.

Mai, Lexi, and Val, the quieter and shyer girls, were huddled together and talking, while Cindy, Sarah, and Kara; the older, bossier girls were dominating the couch.

She pressed her back against the open window, the little, almost non-existent breeze doing nothing to ease her dizzy feeling. The Gremlins spared glances at her and continued to talk quietly amongst themselves. This went on for a half hour; glancing at Yuffie, then talking.

"So...what were you guys doing with the crafts?" Yuffie said finally.

They gave each other secret glances, until Mai retreated to her part of the dresser and pulled out an envelope. She slowly walked to Yuffie and gave it to her. They had Yuffie's and Kairi's name on it.

"What's this?"

"What we made last night after light's out..."

"Can I look?"

She backed away shyly with a nod.

Yuffie opened the envelope and out fell a card decorated with the glitter, tiny pom-poms, and other little decorations and in a big heart it said, "THANK YOU FOR BEING OUR COUNSELORS!"

"Oh...you guys I am so sorry..." she said softly. She ran a finger over their work and felt ashamed for making a big deal over everything.

A smile formed on her lips and she put the card back down on the couch.

"There's still time for more swimming. We can go right now, if everyone wants to."

The Gremlins nodded vigorously, and scrambled to get their bathing suits on. Yuffie grinned and hoped that this was enough to cheer them up from her mean behavior.

After everyone was dressed and ready, they headed out towards the lake, making one quick stop at Yuffie's cabin to get her bathing suit. It was a bikini covered in little pastel rose petals. It wasn't really her taste, but it set off her black hair, as Kairi liked to remind her.

As they walked through the brush, the lake appeared, smooth and sparkling in the midday sun. Children were playing in the shallows and building sandcastles with the sand and mud on the shore, while counselors talked in the deeper waters.

Yuffie squealed when she saw Kairi swimming away from everyone else, talking to Sora. She waved her arms vigorously to get her attention.

"Kaaaiiiirriiiiii!" she shouted with one arm in the air. Kairi looked around as she heard her name and noticed Yuffie. She exchanged a few words with Sora and swam onto shore, leaving Sora behind.

"Yuffie! Did you change your mind, then?" she asked with a shiver. She was soaked from head to foot and dripping all over Yuffie's feet.

"Yeah...the Gremlins have already found something to do," she said with a laugh and glanced at the girls talking to their other camp friends and building a sandcastle. "When we get back I have to show you something..."

Kairi looked at her curiously. "Okay... Oh! Vanera and Aerith are somewhere sunbathing on this beach, I just don't know where..."

Yuffie nodded. "Who's that over there?" she asked smugly, referring to the crazy haired kid.

A light blush spread across Kairi's cheeks. "N-nothing, Sora and I were just talking and swimming..."

"Suuure...and my name is Mrs. Yuffie Leonheart..."

"Huh?"

It was Yuffie's turn to blush. Did she just say that out loud? God damnit! "Uh...uh...nothing, I just made up a random name..."

She gave her a look, then shrugged it off. "The name sounds familiar."

Yuffie gave Kairi a little shove toward the water. "Go see Sora; he's waiting for you out there."

"O-okay..." Kairi faltered and gave Yuffie another look. "You okay? Are you sure you don't want me to stay here?"

"Of course I'm fine, go talk to him!" she said with frustration. Kairi held up her hands and waded into the water. Yuffie sighed with relief and sat down on the sand, observing the scene.

It looked like just about everyone had come. Sheryl and the other three instructors, the counselors, and all of the kids. A group of guys were sitting around a table. Her breath caught in her throat. It was Silver Bells, Blondie, and if they were both here then the other one must be...

Squall Leonheart.

Yuffie held her breath and watched him. His long russet bangs fell into his eyes. Her gaze drifted down his face to his bare shoulders, then to his muscular chest and stomach. Her face heated up when she saw he was only wearing a swimming trunks.

She started to fan her face and let go of her breath that she forgot she was holding.

"Snap out of this, Yuffie, it is pathetic. This guy is ruining you..." she said softly to herself. She spared another glance in his direction, but this time he caught her peeking.

She turned her head sharply away and heard the loud crack of her neck. She cringed at the noise, then stood up. Riku was her friend, and certainly she could befriend Blondie, so why not this Squall? She took a deep breath in and out, and self consciously adjusted her bikini.

Yuffie walked to the table and sat next to Riku.

"Hi, guys, having fun?" she asked, more of herself coming back and less of the shy Yuffie.

"Sure," Riku sighed. "All the hot chicks are taken and I have to resort to company by these two. Even my best friend ditched me."

Yuffie giggled and looked at Cloud. "What about you?"

"Same old same old."

Yuffie turned to say the same to Squall, when he interrupted with, "Don't even ask."

She scowled. "What's wrong with you?"

Cloud answered for him. "Don't mind Squall. He's a little bit...moody."

"It's Leon."

"Leon," Cloud repeated.

Yuffie tilted her head to one side. This would be harder than she thought.

"So...uhh...anyone want to go swimming?" she asked.

"Sure, why not..." Riku said sadly.

"Oh c'mon, Riku, I bet you could have your pick at any one of these girls here!"

"Yes, but I only want one of them..." he said under his breath, but Yuffie was sharp enough to catch it. She chose to say nothing about it, just to spare him the embarrassment. Who might the lucky girl be?

She stood up with her mind set. "Right! Then it's decided. Come on everyone, the lake is waiting!"

She started to jog over to the lake's edge but noticed they weren't following her. She went back to the table and grabbed Riku's arm, pulling him roughly out of his seat onto the sand.

"You're next, Pam Anderson..." she said to Cloud because of his extremely blonde "Pam Anderson" colored hair.

"Oh, c'mon, don't call me that. I think I'll stand myself, thank you," he said bashfully. He helped Riku up from the ground, who was pretending to be having spasms on the ground because of Yuffie.

She smiled lightly and took Squall's arm. "You have to go too."

"I don't have to do anything," he said crossly.

She tugged on his arm. "I'll annoy you indefinitely if you don't come."

"Try me."

Yuffie grinned and cleared her throat, then lowered her face to his ear.

"OO-oh say can you see, by the dawn's early bright, what so proudly we hailed, at the...!"

Riku and Cloud clutched their hands over their ears.

Squall crossed his arms and muttered, "Those aren't even the right lyrics..."

She continued to scream in his ear. Finally he stood up and knocked Yuffie over in the process.

"Whatever...I'll swim..."

"Yay! There, the lake, over yonder!" she said giddily.

"Uhh...Yuffie...you do know that drugs are bad for you, right?" Cloud said, then burst into laughter.

She frowned. "I'm not high, thank you very much."

She stuck a toe in the water and yelped. It was freezing!

"Come on in Yuffie, remember how much you wanted to go swimming?"

"Umm...maybe we should go over to the diving platform and jump off..." she said.

Once she was on the platform, which was rather high, she turned around and tried to run off of it, but Cloud caught her.

"Nope, you have to jump."

"I...don't...want...to..." she said hysterically. "Afraid of...of...heights!"

With the help of Riku, he steered her over to the edge. She teetered then gripped onto his arm.

"No, no, no! Don't make me!" she moaned.

"Look, I'll go first," Riku offered. "Watch!"

He went over to the edge without hesitation and jumped down. Yuffie screeched and covered her eyes. She heard a loud splash, then laughter.

"See, he's fine."

She peered over the edge. Riku was swimming at the bottom, waving at her.

"Why don't we jump together?" he asked.

"No! Let-me-go!" she said through clenched teeth.

"Fine, I'll jump next..." Cloud said. "Here Leon, watch her."

"If she doesn't want to, don't make her..." Squall said with his arms still crossed.

Before he heard what Cloud said he had already jumped off the platform, leaving Yuffie and Squall alone.

She inched over to the edge and looked down. They were both waving for her to come down. She glanced back at Squall. He was watching her by the step ladder. There was either jump, or tell Squall to move.

"Let me get out."

"No."

"Why not?!"

"Just jump."

"But what if I don't want to?"

She had her back to the edge, and was crossing her arms. "Just let me out..."

He approached her, and her first instinct was to step backward...which she foolishly did.

She screamed loudly as she fell, back first, to the water. Squall leaned over the edge and watched her fall. Tears reached her eyes right before she felt the painful slap of water on her bare skin and a sharp jutting stab, then nothing.

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I am evil! This is such a cliffy. Oh well, I hope you enjoyed it anyway. I was going to do the party scene in this chapter but everything was getting too long, so you'll have to wait until the next one. REVIEW, please! Thanks!