Wow. Time really has flown by. I hope everyone had a great Christmas, for I sure did. I haven't updated due to the fact that I got Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. All I've done is play it. Its so freaking amazing. I love it. I've completed the thirteenth floor, and I'm stuck on the boss after it. I haven't spent much time there though. Anyways, here's chapter four.

Side note- It may be a while before the next update. I have two huge projects that I have to do in a week, and finals are coming up. So I'll try and write whenever I can. But this chapter and the next may take a while to come out.

If I owned Kingdom Hearts, I wouldn't be writing these stories, because I'd have no need to. So this is a waste of time. Oh, and I don't own any of the stores that Aerith and Julie went shopping at. On with the story!

I awoke to a pitch black room. I reached over and turned on the light next to my bed. Hmm, Zade must have gone on to eat breakfast, because his bed is made and he's nowhere to be seen.

I climbed out of bed, and changed into my clothes. I headed to the café, hoping that I would find someone I knew there. Everyone had already gotten a table and were sitting around, ordering.

"Morning guys" I said cheerfully, a smile on my face. Everyone looked up for a moment and said their welcomes and went back to what they were doing. I sat down next to Yuffie and Aerith and picked up my menu.

"So how was your first night rooming with Zade?" Aerith asked as she laid her menu down on the table. "I assume the clothing I loaned you was warm enough?" Let's see, I got to see his beautiful muscles and I had to restrain myself from saying that he looked hot.

"The clothing was really comfy." I said as I scanned over the menu. "The rooming part was fine. It's not as big of a deal as I thought. The interesting thing will be figuring out showers." Hopefully Zade is a morning shower person. I hate taking a shower in the morning. It just puts me to sleep and clouds my mind.

Aerith smiled. "Yeah it's pretty fun trying to share one shower with two people, if they shower at the same time."

I nodded. "I'm hoping he's a morning shower type, since I hate taking them in the morning."

"Yeah, that's how it usually works with Cloud and I." I wonder if I could talk with her about last night. I've been able to with anything else so far.

After we had ordered and were eating, I decided to bring it up.

"Hey Aerith?" I said. She looked up from her food and over to me.

"Yeah?"

"What does it mean when you feel like there's butterflies in your stomach whenever you see a certain guy?" I asked. Man, she probably thinks I'm an idiot. But I can't help but ask these things since there aren't any other girls my age on our island. If only my mom had been around to tell me about such things.

Aerith's smile widened. "It's just as I thought. It means you like him." She said. A slight blush spread over my cheeks.

"So, um thenwhat happens next?" I asked.

"Well it kinda depends. Basically you try to find out whether or not he likes you back. If you don't think he does, you make him notice you."

"Well how do you do that? I mean, he probably only sees me as a friend."

"In your case, I'd just try giving him a little more attention; try being a little more feminine around him." I nodded. Being the tomboy that I was, softening up would not be a difficult task.

"Ok, I can handle that. On a side note, do you think he might have any feelings for me besides friendly ones?" I asked.

"That's a tough one." Aerith said. She paused for a moment to think, and replied. "I know that he cares for you a lot. It's pretty evident whenever I talked with him about you two rooming together. It's really hard to tell"

"Mmm." I said. That didn't tell me much. "I guess I'll just let things play out."

She smiled and nodded. "That's usually one of the best things to do. As I said, just pay attention to him a little more. That should help."

"Thank you so much Aerith." I said, smiling. "This really means a lot to me. There never was any kind of a mother figure in my life, and the only kids near my age were Riku and Zade, back on the islands." I said. Aerith already was sort of a mother figure in Traverse, acting as everyone's doctor and advisor. She was just great with people.

Her smile widened. "I'm just glad I can help. It's just nice to see some younger people around this city. Everyone here is middle aged or older, and it's rather depressing and lifeless."

I couldn't help but grin. Riku and I always did sorta liven up things.

Everyone had finished eating and left to go train, save Zade and I. As I was taking my last bite, Zade got up.

"So Jules, when do you take your showers? I've already taken mine, so feel free to take one when we get back." He said. Wow, I was just thinking that. Creepy…

"That's good. I'm a night shower kind of girl, so I'll just take one tonight." I said as I got up as well.

"Then since we have nothing to do, I found a waterway that would be perfect to train in. Care to join me?" he said "I'd have to get my sword from our room first, but otherwise I'm ready if you are." Woah. Now he wants to train with me? This is turning out to be one really weird day.

"Sounds great."

So we headed to our room, grabbed his sword, and headed to the "secret" waterway. We warmed up, and then prepared to spar.

"Ready to lose, Jules?" Zade said confidently, a smirk spread across his face. I smiled.

"Like that'll ever happen." I said. I took my place in front of him, and our usual stare down ensued. Every time we fought, we'd stare at each other, waiting for one person to go, until someone got sick of waiting and attacked.

"What's the matter," Zade said, his grin widening. "Getting scared?"

"Just waiting for the weakest to attack first, that's all."

"Weakest? Well then ladies first."

"Some lady I am. We all know that."

"More of a lady than I, my dear." He always brings it back to the fact that I'm a girl. And then acts all weird. Goofball.

"Quit bringing that up and just attack, Zade. We'll be here all day if you don't."

"My, aren't we stubborn today? Alright then, I'll give up just this once. Prepare yourself." Zade said. His grin immediately left as he yelled, "Strike Raid!" I jumped up, and turned around in mid air. As Zade's sword came back at me, I raised my keyblade and deflected it. It flew off into the water, and quickly sunk.

"Now he doesn't have a weapon. Whatever shall the poor little baby do?" I said in a fake, baby talk voice.

"Humph," was his only reply.

I ran towards him; my keyblade raised. As I slashed at him, he dodge rolled towards the water. He then stood and dove into the water. I grinned. Big mistake, sweetie. I raised my keyblade and yelled "Thundaga!" I saw Zade turn around in the murky water, his sword in hand, right as the room lit up with thunder. I saw him flinch as he struggled to rise to the surface. He finally made it over to the edge of the land, but was unable to get out. I walked over, a triumphant grin on my face, and bent over. Zade's arms were draped on the ground, his sword nearby. He was panting, and looking a little worse for the wear. I touched his head with my keyblade and said,

"You lose. Curaga."

His body became enveloped in a green light, and his breathing returned to normal. I then bent down and took hold of his hands. He looked up at me finally and a terrible grin spread across his face.

"No, you do."

He then pulled me into the water.

"Shit! It's freezing in here!" I said through my chattering teeth, as my legs treaded water.

"That was low, Zade!" I added, and smacked him on the head with my free hand. He laughed and said,

"Alls fair in love and war, sweetheart." My cheeks immediately became flushed. Love?!?! Since when has there been love? I mean, I know it's just an idiomatic statement, but still!

"Humph." I said, voicing my discontentment. As to try and avoid him noticing my probably bright red cheeks, I continued.

"I'm going back to the room and taking a hot bath. I think that's enough dirty tricks for one day."

"Dirty? If it was a dirty trick, I would have pulled you into mud." He said, grinning. That sounds like something Riku would have said. What happened to the quiet Zade that used subtle humor and witty remarks to make people laugh? Unless… no, there's no way he's flirting with me. But if he is, why did it start when we arrived here? Urrgh! Why is this so difficult?

"Ha ha ha." I said monotonously. "I'm going shopping with Aerith afterwards, so I'll see you at dinner, smart ass," I added as I climbed out and made my way towards the exit.

"See ya, Jules." He called after me, as he climbed out as well.

After taking my bath and hanging my clothes to dry, I sat for a while in our room, thinking. I had one towel wrapped around me and the other on my head. I don't get it. It seems like Zade is flirting with me, but how come he's decided to start all of a sudden? Then it hit me. Maybe it's because the thought of being separated scared him? I mean, there was never any threat of any of us ever leaving, and we had all the time in the world. I wonder if he thinks our time is a little more precious now?

Wait, I'm being stupid. This is all assuming that he is flirting with me. There's no way he could be. I mean, jeez. We're like brother and sister.

My thoughts were interrupted (as usual) when Zade strode in, carrying his shoes under one arm and wringing out his shirt. I let out a small shriek.

"Don't tell me you didn't hear me coming again," He said, seeming rather annoyed. "You sure do zone out a lot nowadays, Jules."

I didn't respond as I quickly dashed into the bathroom and slammed the door. As I looked in our mirror, I saw that my cheeks were a soft shade of crimson. Does he time these things? I thought, as I pulled back the curtains to the window and pulled in my now dry clothing.

"Jules?" Zade asked eventually.

"Just a minute, Zade" I said, a touch of frustration in my voice.

"Ok?" he said, sounding confused. I finished changing quickly, and came out with the two towels in my hands. As I tossed them into our hamper, Zade spoke.

"Were you in the bathroom all this time?"

"No shit Sherlock." I said as I emptied the contents of the box that held my munny into my pockets.

Zade blinked for a second. "Wow."

I sighed. "It's a girl thing Zade. We aren't just happy running a little soap through our hair." I said, a slight grin appearing on my face.

"Some tomboy you are." He said playfully.

"Now now Zade, I can't be a tomboy all the time! That would take the fun out of it. I have to act like a girl sometimes." I said, my grin growing.

"Yeah, I guess so." he said, pretending to be mad. I walked over to him and playfully punched him in the shoulder.

"Hey, no hard feelings about today. The best woman always wins."

"So you're a woman now?"

"Actually yeah. Wouldn't I be going through the rites about now if we were home? They always occur after the tournament, don't they?" The rites were always the biggest thing around our islands, along with the tournament. It was basically a simple ceremony where teenagers were deemed "of age" to begin dating other teens. The party afterwards was where most conservative girls received their first kisses.

Zade blinked for a moment. "I guess you're right. Too bad that now that you're of age, there isn't much of a choice of guys for you to date."

I burst out into laughter. Zade looked at me funnily as I tried to stop laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Its…nothing" I said between laughs.

A smile spread across his face, as I quieted down. "I get it now…"

I immediately stopped laughing. "What???" He couldn't know…

"I know why you're laughing. You already have someone in mind." He said, using a playful, fake romantic tone.

"Well o wise one, who is it then?" I finally said. Gotta play it cool…don't blush…

"Riku."

"WHAT?!?!" I exclaimed.

"You do. The two of you are always laughing with each other and doing things together."

"Zade I do not like Riku any more that I liked that scrawny kid that was in our fighting classes last year."

"Actually I heard he had a crush on you then, and it was why he asked you for extra lessons. But that's another story. If you don't then why did you laugh so hard? Huh?" he said, grinning.

"Zade, I don't like him." I said, this time more forcefully. What do I have to do to make you believe me? Tell you that I like you?

"It's ok Jules, I'll set you two up. I'm serious. How about dinner tonight in that corner booth in the café?" he said, this time serious.

"Zade, I'm serious. I don't like him!"

"Well, then who do you like?" My eyes widened at that one. He's my best friend but there's no way I'm telling him that.

"Zade, I've got to go. Aerith is waiting for me, so she can show me where all the good shops are, and all. I'll see you at dinner."

"Mmkay, Jules. We'll finish this conversation later."

"Whatever, Zade." I finally said, as I headed for the door. I shut it behind me, and headed to Aerith's room. As I knocked, I let out a huge sigh. That was an ordeal. Thank goodness I had an excuse to leave.

After spending the rest of the afternoon spending every last munny to our name, Aerith and I sat in my room, surrounded by bags. I chose more conservative clothing than what I wore on the islands, partially due to the change in climate. It was also because of Aerith's advice about dirty old men. She said the city was full of them, all looking for a pretty, young girl like myself. I would have only come home with jeans and tops, but Aerith insisted upon buying me one thing. She forced me to come home with a "little black dress", as she called it. Ithad a halter top with a ruffled bottom. I decided immediately that I would not be caught dead in it, but then Aerith reminded me- I was supposed to start being a bit more feminine. It did show off my legs nicely, so I caved in and bought a pair of heels to go along with it. We were sitting around talking, when Zade came in. Or should I say, tried to come in.

"Jules, why can I only open the door a couple of inches? Riku, you aren't in here too are you?" Zade said, as he tried to force open the door. Aerith immediately burst into a fit of giggles as I exclaimed,

"Zade!" I sat for a moment, trying to suppress laughter as Aerith nearly fell off of her chair, laughing. I finally got up and moved the bags out of the way of the door. As Zade walked in, his jaw dropped.

"What did you do, buy out the entire city?"he asked.I finally lost it, and began laughing while Aerith's face started to become red. In between laughs I tried to speak.

"Aerith…you gotta…stop….laughing…before…" was all I could get out. Zade just shook his head and started emptying bags. I finally was able to stop laughing long enough to tell him,

"Don't open the pink one that says Victoria's Secret, for everyone's sake."

This sent Aerith and I into a new fit of laughter. Zade just looked at us funnily and said, "I'll meet you two in the café. Its about time for dinner anyways," and then walked out the door. Aerith and I quickly put my new clothes up and we headed out the door. I left the hotel alone, since Aerith had to stop at her house and retrieve her husband from the clutches of video games.

I walked briskly towards the café, having built up an enormous appetite from all that training and shopping. I bet I sleep well tonight…

My thoughts were interrupted, again, when I heard a voice come from one of the alleyways.

"Hey sexy…" I heard.

"Go to hell." I said, and continued on walking.

"I pay nicely for pretty girls like you." I stopped.

"Say one more word and I swear, you won't be able to speak again." That obviously shut him up, so I continued on, at a faster pace. I was stopped again when I felt an arm wrap around my neck and the cold metal of a switchblade against my neck.

"Maybe now you'll see things my way," the bastard whispered in my ear, "Sweet heart."

I grabbed a hold of his arm, flipped him over, put one foot on his chest, and put my keyblade against his neck.

I growled at him, "I warned you once, now this is your last warning before I actually do something about it. Fuck with me one more time and I'll herd some heartless towards you."

His eyes became as big as dinner plates, and he whispered hoarsely, "I'm sorry…please, don't hurt me" I then stormed off away from him, as he scampered back into the hole in which he came from. Aerith was right…the guys here are sick.

I finally reached the café. When I entered the establishment, the entire restaurant fell silent. I looked around curiously, and behind me, trying to figure out what was up. I shrugged my shoulders and sat down.

"Hey everyone. You won't believe what just happened to me. Some sicko tried to hire me like I was some whore or something. It was so gross!" I said, just like things were normal. Everyone was staring at me like I was crazy though. Riku was the first to speak.

"And you said you would make the heartless go after him."

"Huh?" I said. "No I didn't…"

"That's what the entire town said that you said. Like you controlled the heartless or something." Cloud said.

"Like I WHAT?!?!" I exclaimed. Me? Control heartless? God, no! I said it like I would just lead them towards him, since they follow me! "If you guys would pull your heads out and think for a moment, you'd remember that I hate them every bit as much as you guys do. All I said was that I'd herd them to him as a threat, since they follow me around practically, with my keyblade and all." I can't believe they bought this bull gossip! I thought they trusted me more than this.

"Told you so," Zade said. Wow, at least someone is on my side. "You guys believe the gossips too easily. Have a little faith in your friends."

"Thanks, Zade. At least someone trusts me." I said. "The guy came onto me and…"

After telling them the story, everyone seemed to ease up completely around me. For the rest of the other patrons at the restaurant, well they were still uneasy. Considering they believed anything that anyone told them about the heartless. Not like I really cared about them anyways. We all finished our food, paid, and headed back. Once the door was shut behind us, I decided to bring it up again with Zade.

"So you really didn't think that I controlled the heartless? You really were on my side the entire time?" I asked.

"Yeah. Riku came running to me, not really quite sure what to think. Even though I tried to reason with him, he kept thinking you were turning into his namesake. I guess he's just kinda paranoid, with all that's happened lately." Boy aren't we all getting that way. I sighed.

"I guess I can understand where he's coming from. I'm a bit disappointed that he didn't have more faith in me, but with what we're dealing with, I don't really blame him."

Zade smiled.

"There's no way you could ever control heartless. Too much light emanates from you. You're pure and wholesome, and to me, you don't seem to have a shred of darkness in you." I looked him in the eyes and smiled.

"Thanks Zade. It means a lot to me."

"It's the truth Jules," Zade said. A grin then spread across his face. Bad news. "Now, you never told me. Who do you like?" I groaned as I fell back onto my bed.

"I swear, Zade, do you ever quit?" I said. I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. He sure is persistent. I know how to shut him up though. I then laughed some and added,"Besides, why do you want to know so badly? Trying to scope out your competition, eh?" For once, I caught him off guard. His cheeks became flushed and he started stammering.

"I wasn't…I was…just…trying to help you out." I grinned.

"You're not too convincing, Romeo." Wait…that's a little too creepy for me to have said. My name is derived from Juliette. Hope he doesn't make that connection.

Zade sighed. "Whatever."

"I know your little secret now, Zade. So you gotta 'fess up. Friends tell."

"Friends tell? Then by all means, spill the beans. I asked first."

"Don't change the subject," I said, laughing. He's cute when he's flustered. "You know you can tell me." Zade just narrowed his eyes andstared at me. I stared at him back. "Staring contests won't work on me, Zade. You go first."

"Go on, Zade, tell her!" Riku said. What the hell?!?! Good sign though.

"Riku!!! You'll pay for this!" Zade yelled. He jumped up, and slammed the balcony doors shut, and closed all the windows. We both could hear Riku laughing loudly on the other side of the wall, in his room. I couldn't help but laugh as Zade went back to the chair he was sitting in.

"He's right you know."

"Some friend he is, spying on us. Humph. As if there's anything to tell." For the very first time, I think, I'm seeing him blush. I smiled. I knew all I needed to know now. So, I did what I thought was right. I got up, and walked over to Zade.

"Don't worry about him. And don't worry about going first. Because I'm going." I said. Zade looked up at mecuriously.

"Ok, who is it then?" My smile widened.

"You."

Zade's eyes widened. They opened even more as I leaned down and kissed him on his cheek. I had planned to kiss him on his lips, but his open, gaping mouth prevented that. I stood up and smiled softly.

Zade sat there for a moment, dumbfounded. Slowly, his look of confusion disappeared as he looked up at me. I grinned a little, as I felt my cheeks become flushed. He laughed a little and stood up. He walked over to me, somewhat close, and looked at me.

"You're blushing." He said softly, a grin appearing on his face.

I giggled. "Yeah, I tend to do that around you."

"So all this time, that's what you've been blushing about?"

I laughed again. "Yeah." Zade's grin grew. It disappeared as he reached up and placed his left hand on the nape of my neck and kissed me. I felt like my knees were going to practically give out on me. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he put his right arm around my waist. We kissed for a good thirty seconds, and finally broke, still in the same position. I leaned my forehead against his and smiled.

End of Chapter Four. Whew. That seemed to take FOREVER!!! Really tough to word. I hope it doesn't sound too terrible. I so totally did not plan the whole bad rep thing with the town. But now everyone hates Julie save the hotel residents. Heh. The fluff begins. Fwee to that. The next few chapters or so are mainly just going to be the happenings of the city. Ho hum. Can't promise anything soon. But not like enough people read this. :-P

Anyways, enough whining and rambling for me. TTYL!

-Classengurl