As soon as Benzo answered the door I knew this party was notgoing to go well for me. Firstly, there were people all around that I didn't even know, secondly I saw my mother looking in my direction while speaking to a couple around her age. I watched while she continued to talk, and glance back and forth at me. I knew she was saying something..'oh there is my daughter Rikku, she's such a ditz, forgets parties she said she would attend'...etc etc etc...Bah!

"Hi Rikku, its nice to see you..." Benzo greeted me politely.

"Thanks Benz..sorry I'm late, really..." I handed him a poorly made potato salad and tried to smile.

"Thanks.." He took the bowl and ushered me in. "Nhadala is around here somewhere, if you want to say hi...Oh yes, and your parents are here."

"yeah, I got a call from them earlier..." I sighed while hanging my up my coat, idly wondering if I could hide in the coat room for the entire length of the party.

"Darling!" My mom came up behind me all in a tizzy. I didnt even see her coming, she must have excused herself from the couple she was speaking with just torun overand harass me, great.

"mom!" I gasped turning around quickly.

"Let me introduce you to someone..." She said before I had the chance to open my mouth again. What was going on, who did she want me to see? I managed to say "mom" but she stoped me before I could continue. Thats my mother for you.

"dear, look at you, you can't wear that" Mom nearly shouted, which caught my fathers eye and I saw him push people aside to get over to us.

"what? wear what?" I looked around, knowing full well what she meant. I liked what I wore, it was cool for the climate, and very very sexy...I was sure that my boss would like it if I could wear it into work. Wait, can't think of the boss..."err?"

"Rikku, what the hell do you think you're wearing?" dad shouted, I winced.

"Well, I'm glad I thought ahead..." mom declared rushing me to one of the upstairs bedrooms. I remember glancing back and seeing dad laughing. Dirty bastard wasn't even mad at me, he was just enjoying seeing me being harassed by my mother. He was proably happy as a pig in sloth that she was too busy with me to bother pestering him.

Once upstairs,my mother handed me the most horrid of outfits.It was a skirt and vest set, and looked like, a couch cover, or some type of Jaquard bedding. It had these huge roses on it, especially over the breasts, and the buttons were little red roses. It may have looked ok on my grand mother, but certainly not me! I must had made a noise because my mother then gave me a stern look. She then threw a pair of beige panty hose at me and left the room. Geeze, it wasn't her was going to be re apolsterd.

As much as I tried to look good in this thing, I absolutly could not! I looked like an old bag lady, well, no..an old bag lady wouldn't look like a chair, but,you know what I mean! It was terrible. I was about to thank my lucky stars that there were no guys my age when my mother came running up to see how I was doing. I simply smiled, which was more like a grimace and she shoved me out the door and down the stairs.

"There is someone I want you to meet..." She started again.

I rolled my eyes and reached for a glass of wine that Benzo was trying to offer me, but my mother shooed him away. Geez, cant even let me have a drink,who was this person she wanted me to meet so bad.

"his name is Baralai, he's a lawyer in Bevelle. His father used to be Praetor at the temple there..." I heard my mother say and was instantly afraid of who this person may be..Some balding middle aged man who smelled like socks. No, wait, that was the last man she tried to set me up with. Seriously, I dont need a man to be a functional adult woman...

"mom..." I sighed when this so called Baralai turned around, wine in his hand. He looked me up and down and I smiled a moment, forgetting what I was wearing. He smiled back, but there was an odd look on his face, which totally reminded me that I looked like a walking chair! But its not like he had room to talk, or sneer in this case, as he wasn't wearing the classiest of things either...

He was wearing a sports jacket, I'll give him points for that, but on his shirt was a picture of a little white Moogle, obviously a knitted sweater. My Mother took off somewhere, and I was left alone with this strange moogle loving man.

"so, uhm..." I looked to the side catching Benzo and his tray of wine, quickly scooping one up as he passed by. "I haven't seen you here before?"

"yes, that may be because Ive never been here before..." He responded, looking totally bored with me. How dare he, I'm not boring!!

"ah..yeah.." I winced, he did have a point however."Um..."

"Your mother tells me you work in Djose?" He asked.

"yeah, I'm a secretary for the excavation company in Djose Temple" I explained. "I used to be a digger, but decided that I wanted an office job so I would be closer to Luca"

"you live in luca?"

"yeah, I take the hover from Mi'ihen and travel the Mushroom Rock Road..Its steady, and I dont have to run around on a days notice to every part of Spira" I actually liked that part of the job, but I had decided that I needed a more mature and stable job...er..which was aftermy boss told me that I had to quit being late for my digging jobs. To impress him though, I took the secretary job and was early for the first week and a half. Now, its alittle harder to get to work and all, I barely make it in on time, but I sitll manage to, and I'm sitting in my seat ready to work when the boss walks by my desk in the morning. Hurrah for me.

Baralai looked slightly impressed, I was about to go on about my job when he brought a hand to his mouth and yawned. I nearly died.

"err..So, you're a lawyer in Bevelle?" I asked quickly.

"Yes, my father was the Praetor in the temple, I took up law..." he raised his brows, as if he were trying to think of something else to say. He did seem slightly more interested now, since I brought up something that had to do with him. Pah, men.

"my cousin used to live in Bevelle, but she moved to the Isle of Besaid when she was around five..." I took a sip of my wine, er..a large gulp rather. "you know where Besaid is?"

"er..yes, I do...ah.." He looked over at the buffet table and nodded to me. "I think I'll grab something to eat, if you would excuse me"

"yeah, sure...right..." I leaned against the wall and watched Baralai slip away from me. I had to admit there, that he was very handsome, but a girl like me just couldn;t be seen with a guy who wears moogle sweaters.

"Hey..." It was dad, with a glass of wine and a mini sausage on a toothpick.

"Hi.." I crossed my arms and tried to focus my attention on my father, but my eyes just kept on going back to Baralai, who was now talking to Nhadala and Benzo, thanking them for the invite and such and such.

"Didn't go well, eh?" He asked.

Frowning I glanced at him before taknig another quick drink of my wine. "why do you care, trying to marry me off?"

Dad coughed and took a bite of the sausage while I stared at him in bewilderment. What was mom trying to do, were they seriously trying to marry me off to some stuck up lawyer who obviously didnt have any personality at all.

"what? but..but why?"

"we just want to see you settled down, you know...your partying way too much, and well, your mother thought maybe a nice young man may keep you in line..." dad chewed his food while talking to me. If mom saw that she would have had a fit.

"but but...I'm fine, I dont need a man..." My eyes flickered back to Baralai. I dont need a man but it would be nice to have a fine one like him. Still, noooo, "what was mom thinking, he's so.."...I tried to think of a word to describe him.."haughty taughty"

"whats that?" Baralai said turning from his place around the buffet table. He raised his brow slightly and I realised that I may have spoken about him a little too loud. Oops.

Istood there in utter horror watching Baralai watch me, as if he were waiting for an explination, which I of course didn't have. He was acting like a jerk after all, still...I did feel very guilty, and silly to say the least.

"well then..." was all he said as he walked away from me to join his parents on the other side of the room. I glanced at my dad who just shruged and said "there you've gone and done it, your mother is goingto be pissed."

So, that was it..That was when I realised that the reason why I can't seem to get a steady boyfriend is that I tend to say things on my mind without thinking of the concequences. but Baralai was sitll a haughty ass, he could have spoken to me more, or told a joke, or or...oh, I just have to face it, I just can't keep a man. Mom and dad are worried I'll die a spinster, to think of it, so am I. Wah.

So, I decided then and there that I will not blow the chance at getting a boyfriend ever again. I will watch my tongue, and say only nice things, I will dress conservatively and hook a nice man, one that will make me happy, and ..ahem, my mother happy as well. Okay, so Baralai was out of the question anyway. I need someone who was a better sense of adventure! yeah!

Thanks for the reviews guys! Just a reminder that this is losely based on Bridget Jones's Diary, which was based on pride and prejudice, lol.

For those of you who know those books and still enjoy my little Rikku version, awesome! I dont want to completly base it of of either novels, I hope to have some of my own twists in this.

I know you asked for some pairings but I dont like to give away too much in my fan and original stories in the beginning, forgive me for that. But., there defenatley are pairings, of course. If you know the Bridget Jones story you can proably guess who I will be using for the two men in Rikku's life by their personalities.

Thanks a bunch guys, didn't think I would get reviews so fast, keep em comin! It encourages me to write more, and I'm having a blast writing this one!

Luv Arpazia