Here's the next installment of Summer Nights! I really hate this new Document Manager thing, too. The Quick Edit takes out my lines and my star symbols and stuff. Why Fan Fiction? WHY?!

Thanks to all of chapter five's reviewers:

Deplora

BlueEyedDemon10

PureHikari

hulabaloo

eclipsed

DarkFlame666

zilly

Annjirika

pingpong867

Regno Cuore

QwickSilver

ObsidianSorrows

SunMoon,EarthSky

RikkuFF10

Summer Nights

Chapter 6

Yuffie pushed the curtains closed and approached the door, her outstretched hand taking the door knob and pulling it open slowly. It reminded her of one of those utterly horrible, black-and-white films where they tried to create suspense by making everything go slow and have corny music. She could never really concentrate on the screen while watching those.

She held the door open and made sure to plaster a smile on her face. "Oh Sheryl, what brings you here? Do you want to come in or something?" she asked quickly before she could say anything.

Sheryl answered with a curt smile and stepped inside, followed by the other female instructor. "We've heard some strange things, Miss Kisaragi. Take a seat."

Yuffie quickly sat down on the couch and smiled nervously. "Ah—like what?"

"You were at the party, correct?"

"Yes." What was she getting at?

"We have reason to believe that you are the one responsible for spiking the punch."

"Who told you that?!"

"I'm afraid that's confidential."

"What! Valerie was the one serving the punch, and she told me and my friends she did it!"

"Don't subject Valerie to this. She would do nothing of the sort."

"Oh, but I would?"

"Excuse me, but I believe that since I am your superior you should talk to me with more respect."

Yuffie gripped her hands into fists and stood up. "Well I'm not taking this! You can kick me out, but I am not admitting to doing anything, because I didn't!"

"Settle down, Miss Kisaragi."

"No! You have no right waltzing in here and saying that I spiked the punch!"

"Stop this!" said the other instructor. Sheryl nodded and looked at her for support.

"Yes, stop. If you say you didn't, then...well, we should give you the benefit of the doubt."

Yuffie relaxed and sat down again, shaking out her hands. "Thanks, I think..."

"That is, we SHOULD give you the benefit, but we aren't."

Yuffie remained silent. Sheryl and her little posse of instructors were really pissing her off, especially how Valerie kept buttering her up. She knew that if she said anything to her, it would be a string of curses.

"Your sentence will be cleaning up the bathrooms for two weeks. You're very lucky we aren't sending you home."

OH YES! That's really lucky...I want to go home...

"The sentence is starting today. This goes for boy and girl bathrooms. The cleaning utensils are in the janitor's closet in the office. Make sure you do it thoroughly everyday at 4:00 A.M and at 10:00 P.M."

Sheryl stood up and walked out of the cabin, followed by the other instructor. Yuffie buried her head in her hands and moaned. She didn't want to spend her time scrubbing dirty toilets, and besides, around 10:00 she was supposed to be with the other female junior counselors doing the boy counselor thing, whatever that was.

Kairi walked in, holding a can of pop. She tossed it to her and sat down next to her. "What's up with you?"

"Sheryl."

"What happened?"

"She claims that I was the one who spiked the punch. I'll give you one guess as to who it was."

"Valerie."

"You guessed it."

Yuffie popped the lid of the can and took a sip of the fizzing liquid then pushed it onto her forehead in a way to cool herself. Kairi picked up the sheet of paper and read it silently to herself.

"What's this?" she asked and turned the paper over to look at more thoroughly.

"Some kind of gathering for the junior female counselors, arranged by our male friends," Yuffie said with a slightly sarcastic tone.

"Interesting. This is probably some kind of creepy initiation thing."

"Hopefully not, because I'm not going anything crazy."

"Like what?" Aerith asked and walked into the cabin. Vanera walked in after and closed the door, plopping down onto the bed.

"Here," Kairi said and handed Aerith the note. She read it and passed it to Vanera.

"Cool..." she murmured. "I wonder if they'll make us do something dangerous."

"That wouldn't be a good thing, Van," Aerith pointed out. She twirled a few strands of auburn hair around her finger.

"Yeah it would."

She sighed and closed her eyes. "My friends are crazy."

"But that's why you love us," Yuffie said playfully.

Yuffie bent over, scrubbing around the toilet bowl, the smell of bleach and other cleaning chemicals making her eyes burn. It was late at night, about 10:15, but the correct time for her to be working at, according to Sheryl. She coughed and stuck her head under the stall for some fresh air, then went back to work. This routine went on for thirty minutes.

She hated Valerie. It wasn't a strong dislike for her. It was pure hatred. VALERIE had gotten them into a fight, VALERIE had spiked the punch, and VALERIE wanted Squall all to herself. She thought she could have anything she wanted. Maybe she had allegedly accused her of spiking the punch, but that was the only glory Yuffie would let her have.

Sighing and tossing the dirty scrubber into the bucket, she stood up and dragged it into the janitor's closet that was directly attached to the bathroom. She pulled off the sweaty rubber gloves and tossed them in the trash, shaking her hands out swiftly.

"Oh gross!" she exclaimed when she saw her hands. They were wrinkled with moisture from being in the sweaty gloves.

She sighed and washed her hands at the sink, finishing quickly and leaving the bathroom to follow the path down to the lake, where everyone else would already be gathered.

When she got there, a small group of female counselors had actually chosen to show. When she got closer, she noticed it was only Aerith, Kairi, and Vanera. She laughed silently to herself. So some of those chickens had ducked out, huh?

"Hey, where is everyone? We've been waiting here for a half hour. Did you see anything on your way here?" Kairi asked, wrapping her arms around herself.

Yuffie shook her head. "I didn't see anyone."

A twig snapped behind them. Yuffie ignored it; the woodland sounds had grown used to her ears. Another twig snapped, then what sounded like a stone being scattered across the dirt. Kairi gripped Vanera's arm in fear.

"Who's there?" Yuffie called out. Aerith took a step forward, searching with her bright emerald eyes.

"The Scare Squad," Riku said with a mocking laugh. He jumped past a few bushes, followed by Sora, Cloud, and Leon.

Think Yuffie, think. Remember your plan! Get Squall to like you better than Valerie.

Yuffie sighed. She knew she didn't have the energy to muster up the courage to loop her arm in Squall's, or even talk to him in a flirty way, like Kairi could.

"What are you guys doing here?" Vanera asked, brushing a few strands of auburn hair out of her crystal eyes. Riku had a smirk on his face.

"Don't you remember the letter?"

Vanera's eyes widened. "That was you? But where's everyone else?"

"There is no one else," Cloud said with a smirk.

"Well, then what is this all about?"

"Every year, a cabin of female counselors are chosen to be put through an initiation. And this is your test."

"What kind of test?" Kairi asked suspiciously. "How do we know you're not going to take us in the woods and rape us?"

"I won't let them," Cloud answered reassuringly, putting his hands dangerously on Riku's and Sora's neck.

"Why does everyone do that to us?" Sora whined.

"Yeah, like we'd rape them!" Riku muttered, a smile in his eyes.

"What do you mean by that, Silver Bells?" Yuffie asked. "Huh, Silver Bells? Silver Bells? Silver Bells? Want me to put my toilet bowl hands on you?"

Riku backed away, looking disgusted. "No! Get away from me. And my name is NOT Silver Bells."

"Or is it?" Vanera said in mock spookiness, lowering her voice.

A light blush spread across Riku's cheeks. "Uh...heh...uh..."

Sora gave him an incredulous look and nudged his ribs. "Dude!"

Riku glanced up, his face now bright red. So...Vanera must be the mystery girl he liked.

"Eh, Riku, got the hots for someone?" Yuffie said, grinning widely, and gave him a little shove.

"No! You guys are such idiots," he said, regaining his dignity. Vanera giggled, then hardened up and crossed her arms.

"So what do we have to do for this little initiation?" she asked.

"Each of us will lead you into the woods, blindfolded, and you'll have to make your way back to the lake. There are markers everywhere, you won't get lost. Directions will come from there. If you have to have someone come back to guide you because you think you're lost or too scared, then you're out," Cloud explained.

"Good enough for me," Vanera said, a challenging look in her eyes.

"But...uh..." Yuffie stuttered. She was secretly afraid of the dark, not to mention heights. She shuddered, remembering the diving incident, and self consciously touched her scar that was slowly healing along her back.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Leon said coolly, speaking up for the first time that night.

Aerith glanced at Kairi, who was wide-eyed and looking more frightened than Yuffie. "I don't know, this doesn't seem like a good idea..."

Cloud put a hand on her shoulder, gazing into her eyes. She stared up at him, mesmerized by his big blue eyes so evident in the dark. "Trust me. Nothing will happen."

She nodded, but still looked unsure. "Okay."

No! Aerith, you were my last hope! Yuffie mentally screamed. Now who would stop them from going into the woods? Vanera wasn't helping either, practically jumping from one foot to the other just to get moving.

"C'mon, I need a blindfold!" she said anxiously.

"Settle down, you..." Riku muttered, and walked behind her, wrapping a bandana around her eyes and tying it tightly, his hands lingering on her face a little longer than normal. Yuffie felt a huge grin spread across her face. Vanera and Riku would be the perfect couple. If only she knew how to set them up...

Cloud tied a bandana around Aerith's eyes, and when he tied the knot he slid his hands down her shoulders to entwine his fingers with hers. "This way, this is your path." They walked through what looked like a recently trodden trail.

Sora did the same to Kairi, leading her down to another path, then Riku took Vanera. The only people left were Yuffie and Squall. She felt herself intake a deep breath when he came up behind her and tied the blindfold for her.

He roughly grabbed her hand and started leading her down her own trail. Yuffie couldn't help but let herself have a small smile and follow him blindly. She couldn't hear anything, but that just heightened her other senses...and emotions.

They tracked down the trail for what seemed like hours, and when they finally got there, Yuffie was breathing and out of breath. "That...took...forever..." she panted after climbing up a particularly steep hill. Squall let go of her hand and started to walk away from her.

"Wait!" she screeched, suddenly aware of how vulnerable she was. She reached out to where she thought he was and took his hand pulling him back. "Please don't leave me! I'm afraid of the dark," she admitted.

"I can't," he replied in monotone. She couldn't tell what he was thinking because she couldn't see his face.

"Please?" she pleaded.

"I have to go," he said, pulling away from her. She kept a firm grip on him and pulled him closer, feeling alarmed. "Yuffie, let it go! Don't worry. You'll find your way back."

Was she mistaken, or was there what seemed to be another meaning behind his words?

He shook himself free and she stood alone, in the woods, in the dark, listening to his footsteps grow farther and farther away. She sighed and wrapped her arms around herself, walking without knowing where she was stepping, shaking from fear.

This would be her worst nightmare.

Squall watched Yuffie stumble along the path, looking like a lost lamb out of the herd. This was the stupidest idea he had ever participated in. Yuffie was scared to death, thinking she was all alone. He wouldn't blame her. How was she supposed to know he was following her to make sure she didn't get into trouble? And to make sure she didn't cheat her way back.

He followed her feeble steps from about twenty feet away, where he would be out of hearing range. The moon hit Yuffie's hair and made her whole face light up, displaying her good features. She seemed to have a lot. All of her friends were very pretty, but not exactly attractive. Not to him.

Squall shook his head, scolding himself. Shut it, Leon. Don't go making thoughts like that. It will only lead to trouble.

He set his eyes on the path ahead, watching Yuffie out of the corner of her eye. She looked so upset. And she was practically walking around in circles. The walk back with eyes took awhile, and without it would be intolerable.

Yuffie stumbled along to the best of her abilities, holding her hands out and trying to feel for the markers she passed up, wishing she would have memorized the path she had taken. How stupid she had been!

A loud snap brought her to an abrupt stop. What was that? What if it was a skunk? Or worse...a bear? Or even worse...a wolf?

She cocked her head and listened, then hit herself on the forehead. Of course, idiot, take off the blindfold! Yuffie ripped it off and looked around wildly, but couldn't see a thing in the darkness of the night. The moon did almost nothing to illuminate the path.

Yuffie heard another snap, and then another. Whatever was making that noise, it couldn't be an animal, and it was taking slow, deliberate steps toward her. The thoughts of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre flashed through her head again. Maybe it was true!

She screamed loudly, tears streaming down her cheeks, and ran up the path, hearing the thing behind her start running after her. She shrieked and didn't dare look behind her. A thick feeling of fear washed over her, blinding her thoughts.

A large branch blocked the path, the same one Squall had helped her over, and informed her it was a landmark. It appeared before her to quickly before she could stop running. She tripped over it and fell into the dirt, emitting a soft 'oof.'

For the chaser, this was just the deflect he needed. He grabbed her arm and pulled her up. Yuffie screamed and started kicking and punching wildly, getting the attacker a good one in the eye. She karate chopped his stomach and gasped. Her hand hit something rock solid. Were those his abs?

"Yuffie..." someone growled in an angry voice.

"Leon?" Yuffie asked shrilly, looking at the attacker. So it was him!

"W-what are you doing here?" she asked, a tremor in her voice.

Squall put a hand on his eye which was slowly swelling up. "Trying to stop you from running and killing yourself, but I see you cheated and took off the blindfold anyway."

Yuffie blinked. That was possibly the longest sentence she had ever heard him say. "Let me see," she said, referring to his eye.

"No," he said crossly.

"If you don't it will only get worse," she said in an attempt to sound gentle and womanly, but only came out with her usual cocky and indignant voice. She sighed at herself and gently pulled his hand away and looked at it. It was swelling and bruising quickly.

She reached up with her hand to touch it but he recoiled, re-clamping his hand onto his eye. "Don't touch it!"

"You're such a baby!" she said with a slight laugh. "Let me help you. One minute."

Yuffie went into the brush and brought back some strange, spiny plants, grinning arrogantly from ear to ear and sauntered over to him. "This will work wonders. Aerith taught me this."

He looked at her wearily as she snapped the crunchy leaf spikes in half and squeezed out the juice, making a thick, yet watery paste on her hand. "Open up!" she said, giggling.

"No."

"Just do it."

"No."

"Come on, Squall!"

"Leon."

"That isn't your real name, though."

"So what?"

"UGH! Just move your hand!" she said in an exasperated voice. Before he could protest she grabbed his hand and pulled it down, jamming the substance into his eyes.

"Stop!" he yelled and fell backwards, trying to wipe it out of his eyes before stopping.

Yuffie smiled smugly. "It feels better, doesn't it?"

"Slightly," he said crossly, standing up and composing himself.

"Gee, I never knew you were such a baby!" she said, rolling her eyes.

"Speak for yourself. I was watching you the whole time, stumbling around with that blindfold."

"Why were you watching me?!" she asked, suddenly wondering how Squall had found her in the first place since she heard him leave.

"I never left. I went around in a circle and came back so I could make sure you didn't cheat."

"Squall Leonheart! How dare you do that to me!" she fumed. "I thought I was all alone!"

He shrugged, and started walking away, rubbing his eye slightly.

"Hey! Don't just leave me here!" she said desperately, catching up with him and looping her arm with his without being embarrassed. He gave her a look. "Sorry...I have to hold your arm. And don't rub your eye, or else it will come off and the swell will flame up like a balloon."

He sighed and tried as hard as possible to ignore her, Yuffie could tell. "I might as well come back with you anyway since I disqualified myself, right?" she said rhetorically.

"Right..." he said sarcastically.

Yuffie yawned and felt her eye-lids droop. She was so tired...maybe he wouldn't mind...she leaned her head against his shoulder, a pleasant expression on her face.

He looked down at her, a hardened look on his face, about to tell her off for putting her head on his shoulder, but changed his mind. He didn't have the energy to get into a fight with her, and he had been hard on her.

Yuffie sighed contentedly and looked up into his blue eyes, a dreamy look to her. Her gaze traveled from his eyes to his straight nose, lips, and strong jaw. She wished she could kiss him, so badly, that it was a physical ache in her chest.

"Squall..." she whispered sleepily.

"What?"

"Can I...?" she asked, tilting her head. He looked at her suspiciously.

"What?"

"Can I..." she stuttered, her face flushing. Instead of finishing the sentence, she stopped him from walking and turned him toward her, standing up onto her tip-toes. She kissed his jaw slowly, then went up and brought her lips to his soft warm ones, closing her eyes.

She grinned through her kiss and then pulled away, keeping her face close to his so their breath mingled. She searched his eyes for a reaction, feeling suddenly very self-conscious. Something flickered past his eyes.

He reached up a hand and touched her cheek. Yuffie felt like bursting. Tears almost came to her eyes, but she quickly shook off the urge to pull in for another kiss.

I updated! Yay! I don't know when I'll have the next chapter out, because this weekend I'll be at the State competitions for this writing contest, and I'm nervous! But when I come home I might be able to start it. Anyway, please REVIEW! Oh...and aren't you happy I got some fluff in? This is the first time I haven't waited until the ending to bring in the goods. -