4. A Hypothetical Situation
"Yo, brudda! And I thought that you weren't going to show up, ya?" Coach Wakka said cheerfully to Tidus as he showed up for blitz practice about ten minutes late. He noticed the downcast look on his star player's face and couldn't help but be concerned for it was a rare expression to see. "You okay? I don't think I've ever seen you come to practice with a scowl on your face."
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to kick the shit out of something, that's all," Tidus mumbled as he walked toward the entrance of the sphere pool.
"That great of a day, ya?" Wakka asked him with a chuckle as Tidus jumped in. Tidus hoped that this practice would keep his mind off things. However, the only thing he could think about during practice was Yuna.
Who the fuck told her about my reputation? Although I'm sure it wouldn't take an alchemist to know how I manipulate girls...I can change though... Can't I? I've been this way for so long, I don't know if I know how to be any other way. Wait a minute, here! What am I thinking? Do I want to change myself? Yet alone change myself for a girl? I can get any girl I want so whyis this thought crossing my mind? Tidus was so deep in thought that Letty charged right into him and stole the ball. Tidus was pissed at himself for being so careless and cursed in his head. What the hell is wrong with me today?
At the end of practice, Tidus showered and sat on one of the benches in the locker room in only his towel. All his teammates were oddly quiet as they changed and left until Tidus was the only one left in the locker room. He really didn't have any intention of getting up and leaving any time soon either. He needed to sit and think, and he felt the locker room was the best place to do it. Wakka walked over to him and messed up his hair.
"What's with you today, eh?" He questioned as he sat down next to him. Tidus couldn't look his coach in the eyes, so he focused his gaze on a crack that spidered through the tiles in one of the corners. "You seem a little off your game and, I must say that is somethingI've never seen from you."
"I know, Wakka," Tidus confessed as he rested his elbows on his knees. He sighed as he shook his head. "I'm a little preoccupied, that's all."
"You know the rule of blitz, Tidus. You have to keep all your concentration on the game, because the minute that you don't, that's when you lose. I thought you of all people would know that," Wakka said as he gently patted Tidus on the back. "You're the captain of the team, ya? Your teammates look up to you, you know? The second that you're distracted and don't care about the game is the same second where your teammates realize since you don't care, they don't have to care either."
"Yeah, I know," Tidus replied with a sigh, not wanting to be lectured. He ran his fingers through his damp hair as he looked at Wakka and slightly changed the direction that the conversation was going in. "Wakka, you've been my coach for, what, three years now?" Wakka nodded and Tidus continued. "Okay, so you know me pretty damn well, don't you?"
"Of course I do. You're practically my brudda," Wakka said honestly with a slight shrug of his shoulders.
"Okay, do I come off as a...I don't want to say 'man whore' but…" Tidus couldn't find the right words to say about himself, so he simply trailed off.
"Honestly? You do kind of get around, ya?" Wakka let out a slight chuckle and patted Tidus on the back. "All I'm saying is that you better be careful, you know? I don't want baby Tiduses running around."
"Well, I am, but that's besides the point," he said as he put his hands on his knees. "What I mean, is...Okay, let's just make this a hypothetical situation. 'Kay, hypothetically I like this girl. She's naïve, prude, innocent, smart, beautiful; yeah, she's pretty much perfect."
"Does this hypothetical girl have a name?" Wakka asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"Um, we'll just call her Yuna." Tidus said as Wakka chuckled. "So, hypothetically, Yuna hears about my reputation and isn't so nice to me anymore. To be blunt, she blows me off."
"This is still hypothetical, ya?" Wakka asked as Tidus stood up.
"Of course." Tidus remained nonchalant about the situation as he responded with a nod and crossed his arms across his chest. "So, now the big question; what the hell should I do? I-I mean, if this kind of situation ever comes up, I want to know what my actions should be."
"What's so special about this girl, anyway?" Wakka asked as Tidus ran his fingers through his hair. "I've never seen you hooked on a girl like this."
"Maybe it's just that. Maybe it's the fact that she's unlike any girl I've ever fallen for," he said with a shrug. "Like I said, she's quiet, gorgeous, shy, naïve...Maybe that's what I like most about her."
"When did you meet Miss Hypothetical?" Wakka asked as Tidus started to open his locker to get out his clothes.
"I met her today. She just transferred here from Yu Yevon Academy in Bevelle and it was her first day here," he started with a slight huff. "She was like valedictorian, president of this, president of that. She's daddy's little angel all right."
"So, she's outta your league, ya?" Wakka asked with a laugh as Tidus started to put his clothes on.
"Ya know, Rikku said the same damn thing earlier today and it pisses me off."
"Why?" Tidus buttoned his shirt up as he tried to think of an answer to Wakka's question. No matter how hard he tried, a logical explanation couldn't come into his mind. "It shouldn't bother you if ya know you can't get what you want out of her."
Tidus shot Wakka a glare for the comment and said, "Who said that's all I want out of her?"
"Didn't mean to offend you or anything, but from what you're saying, she's the kind of girl who would want a relationship and I know you're not the guy to be committed in one." Tidus scoffed as Wakka stated that and stood up. Deep down inside, he knew that it was true. "You've got that kind of spirit that I can't see tied down to a girl."
"Yeah, I know," Tidus responded quietly as he ran his fingers through his damp hair. He whipped his head back up and looked at Wakka again. "She won't even give me a chance though. She heard a few things about my reputation and now she won't even talk to me."
"Honestly though, brudda," Wakka began with an exhale as he put his hand on Tidus' shoulder. "Hypothetically speaking, if you were a girl like that, would you want to date a guy like you?"
Those words hit Tidus hard as Wakka walked away. He knew that Wakka wasn't expecting an answer back, so he threw his towel in the laundry bin in the locker room and walked outside to where his black BMW was parked. He was just about ready to pull out of the parking lot when he heard his cell phone ring. He looked at the display on the front of his phone and saw that it was Rikku.
"Hey, bitch," he said cheerfully as he checked himself out in his review mirror.
"Hey, fucker, how are you?" She replied in an equally cheery tone of voice. "I thought I told you to call me once you got out of practice. It's almost seven."
Tidus looked at his watch and cursed under his breath. "Well, I kinda took my time showering and stuff. I had a lot on my mind."
"Damn, what were you doing for three hours in the shower?" He rolled his eyes and made a face at her innuendo as he turned down his radio.
"Shut the hell up, Rikku. I was talking to Wakka for a while too," he said as he pulled out of his parking space. "He and I had a coach to captain talk."
"Ah, one of those fun pep talks?" Rikku asked him.
"Well, I guess you could say that," Tidus said with a sigh.
"That's nice. So how did your talk with whats-her-name go earlier today?" Tidus inhaled then exhaled the breath into little puffs of air when Rikku popped that question. He tried to avoid the Yuna subject as long as he could; he was slightly embarrassed at how he was blown off like that. No one blows me off…Tidus thought to himself. Especially a girl…
"Perfectly fine," he lied. He didn't like to lie to Rikku like that, mainly because usually she can see right through him. Surprisingly enough, she didn't.
"That's great," she said casually as she quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, so guess what my daddy told me today?"
"What did you daddy tell you today?" Tidus asked, mocking her excitement.
"He's going to Bikanel this weekend, leaving Brother and I home alone." Rikku said in a mischievous manner. Although Tidus couldn't see her, he knew her eyes were sparkling. "So guess what that means?"
"Ooh, one of Rikku's famous parties?" Tidus asked with excitement. Rikku was always able to throw the best parties. It always consisted of the cheerleaders, blitz team, and other popular people at the school. It was by invitation only, and you had to personally be invited by Tidus or Rikku.
"Yep!" Rikku answered with a girlish giggle. "I haven't had one in a while, but this is a perfect opportunity. You don't think your dad will mind you being gone all weekend, right?"
"We're talking about Jecht here, Rikku," Tidus said with an annoyed tone as he thought about his father. "He'll probably be playing blitz in Luca or something. When is he ever home anyway?"
"Just checking," Rikku said as she paused for a second. "So, I guess this means that you'll have to invite Yuna too?"
"Yeah, that would be awesome," Tidus thought out loud with a smile. But wait... "Hey, maybe you should talk to her, Rikku."
"Me? What am I? Your personal match maker?"
"No, I'm just saying, maybe you should befriend her so it doesn't look like I'm trying too hard." He knew that he couldn't invite Yuna because she wouldn't come with a personal invitation from him. She would probably laugh at him and walk 180 degrees in the opposite direction. However, if Rikku invited her, she might show up.
"Well, I guess I could do your dirty work," Rikku said with a reluctant sigh. "It's not like she won't know that you'll be there anyway."
"Shit, I guess you're right." Tidus gripped the steering wheel harder as he thought about it.
"What's with the 'shit' part, Ti?" She asked him as he shook his head and pulled into his driveway.
"Never mind. Look, I gotta go though, I'll talk to you later." Rikku didn't have a chance to say good bye before Tidus hung up with her. He exhaled as he turned his car off and took the keys out of the ignition. Time for me to work up a plan... He thought as he walked through his front door.