He was warm and comfortable. His body was urging him to continue sleeping, yet his mind was telling him that it was time to get up. Yawning, he tried rolling over but stopped short.
An arm was wrapped loosely around his waist and he could feel a leg tangled in his. Mind racing, Gippal turned around slowly and his face was met with the soft hair of Rikku.
What...is she doing here?!
His heartbeat quickened as he felt her move a bit and tighten her hold around him. His back was warm and her body was pressed tightly against his.
I can't move...I'm too shocked to even think...!
His first thought was that if Rikku's father or brother were to walk in that door any second, he would be a dead man. The current circumstances were becoming more difficult to comprehend as Gippal turned his head around to look down into her face. She was still sleeping soundly and her head was tucked close to the back of his neck as she gripped his waist tightly.
Gippal's eye widened as she felt her hand move up so that it was resting upon his chest. He was breathing heavily, trying desperately to think of why she was there with him.
Rikku...
He suddenly remembered that she had asked to sleep next to him the night before. Now that he had thought of it, why had he agreed to let her in?
A part of him knew that she had something planned and she wanted to test to see if he would try to put moves on her. He grinned to himself. Apparently, she had made the moves on him.
Rikku groaned softly and hugged the warm, firm thing that was near her more tightly. She sighed contentedly, enjoying the heat that surrounded her. A gentle movement from underneath her caused her eyes to snap open though.
She was in a bed and the first thing she saw was blond hair. However the thing that caused her heart to stop was that it was not her hair. She was suddenly very awake and she remained still, frozen in shock as she stared in horror at her arm that was wrapped around Gippal.
Eyes wide in alarm, she felt her own leg tangled in one of his from underneath the sheets they were both sharing.
She shut her eyes again in a panic.
Not good...not good! Ok, calm down, Rikku. Let's think about this. First of all, he doesn't know you're awake yet! Second, if you can just slip away from him, he'll probably never know that you snuggled up to him on your own will! He'll think it was an accident. Right? RIGHT?!!
Yes! That's right!
She loosened her grip from around his waist slowly, and moved herself as if she was just moving so that she was sleeping on her other side. Rikku felt him move from underneath her. Pretending to still be asleep, she untangled her leg from between his and tucked herself slightly away from him so that there was about three inches of air space between them.
Good job! But...now what?
For a few agonizing moments, Rikku simply lay there, debating about what to do next. On one hand, she realized that she had still not won the bet. Her plan the night before was that Gippal would awaken with his arms around her. But that plan had failed badly. She was the one who ended up cuddling him.
That thought alone caused her cheeks to grow warm. She groaned inwardly.
Realizing that Gippal would probably tease her endlessly after his last day of not speaking to her was over, Rikku wanted to beat him now more than ever. But how?
I guess I'm lucky that he won't be able to ask me about why I asked to sleep in his bed today. But my time is running out! If I don't find some way to make him lose today, it's over! It'll be "Slave Rikku" for me!
That thought caused her to stick her tongue out at how dirty it sounded.
She heard a rustling of sheets and felt the bed move a bit. Cracking her eye open slightly, she saw that Gippal had gotten up from the bed and was heading towards the door. From her position, she saw him open the door slightly and peak out into the hallway.
Huh? What's he doing?
"Rikku...geez. I hope your dad doesn't catch us like this..." she heard Gippal mumble under his breath. She shut her eyes again right as she saw him turn back around.
Keeping still, Rikku heard him sit down in the chair at her desk. Then, it was silent again.
Is he just sitting there?
Deciding that it was time to end her pretending, she began to "wake up."
Gippal blinked as he saw Rikku begin to stir under the covers. He remembered the bet and kept his mouth shut, seeing her sit up.
She glanced up at him briefly before throwing off the covers and sitting on the edge of the bed to face him.
If I can just play it off as if nothing happened, I'll be ok at least for today...
"Mornin...I um...I guess I'll see you downstairs!" Rikku greeted him cheerfully, before exiting the room.
Gippal fought off a smile as he watched the girl quickly scramble out of bed and shut the door behind her.
One more day. One more day, and victory is mine.
Rikku ran into the bathroom and turned on the faucet, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was flushed and she splashed some cold water on it.
"Argh...what was I thinking?! Sleeping next to him?! I can't believe myself..." Rikku scolded herself in a low voice. She reached up to grab the towel and dried off her face. Going into her closet, she quickly dressed and made sure that her clothing looked presentable this time. She chose her normal shorts and tanktop attire for the day.
Entering the kitchen, she saw that he had still not come down.
Good. Maybe I can sort out all my jumbled thoughts! Argh!
Rikku paused, realizing that she always seemed to feel flustered when she was around the young man upstairs. He annoyed the hell out of her. That was for sure. But his nice side always seemed to catch her off-guard.
Shrugging away her thoughts of Gippal, she grabbed the keys from the counter and exited the house. A morning walk. That should do her some good.
And I'm not ready to face Gippal yet...
Making her way into the shopping district, she decided to look for a new pair of gloves. The other pair she had bought just recently wasn't enough, and Rikku wanted longer gloves. She nodded politely to the old man sitting at the counter of the first shop she entered.
Walking over to the table, she picked out a nice pair and tried them on, clenching her fingers and inspecting them under the light.
"Those suit you very well."
Rikku paused and turned around at the voice. A young man stood in front of her, smiling kindly. He had spiked brown hair and green eyes; the clearest green color she had ever seen. He was tall and attractive, and even Rikku couldn't help but keep her eyes from looking him quickly up and down. She blushed in embarrassment at herself.
"O-Oh...thanks..." she trailed off hesitantly, hoping that he hadn't caught her staring so openly at him.
He stepped up towards her, peering down at the gloves at her hands. "In fact, they're just perfect on you," the young man smiled again. He seemed to remember his courtesy just as Rikku blinked up at him in confusion. "O-Oh! Where're my manners? I'm Riolen."
"Hi, I'm Rikku," she replied. She smiled at him, shaking his hand. "Are you new here? I don't think I've seen you before," Rikku said.
He nodded. "Yeah, my parents just transferred to this group a few weeks ago. We've been living in the second district," he explained.
"Your parents?" Rikku asked.
"Yeah, I know. I'm sixteen and all, but my parents still insist that I live with them for one more year before I leave," Riolen explained with a chuckle.
Rikku laughed as well. "Geez, if my father made me live with him if I was 17 or 18, I'd leave!" she declared.
He looked down at her. "So how old are you?"
She pulled off the gloves, moving towards the counter to pay for them. "Fifteen."
"Oh, so we're about the same age then," Riolen smiled, following her.
"That'll be 500 Gil," the cashier told Rikku, putting the gloves in a bag.
Rikku reached into her pocket, trying to get the paper Gil. She finally found it and pulled it out, ready to hand it to the cashier. Looking up, she saw Riolen dropping 500 Gil into the palm of the cashier. He smiled down at her.
"It's no problem. Think of it as a "first meeting" present," he laughed, eyes sparkling under the low light.
"Aw, you don't have to do that! I um...at least let me repay you somehow!" Rikku exclaimed, feeling guilty all of a sudden.
Riolen held the door open for her as they both exited the shop. "You don't need to do that. I wanted to," he assured her with a kind smile.
Rikku felt herself blushing at his kindness. "I um...thanks, Riolen."
"No problem," he replied. Rikku began to head in the direction of the residential area. "So are you heading home now?" he asked her.
"Yeah, I have some things to do at home," Rikku replied, remembering her bet with Gippal.
Riolen easily fell into step next to her. "Let me walk you home then. I don't have much else to do, and I'm heading in that direction anyway," he offered with a smile.
Rikku smiled. "Sure."
The short walk back to the residential area was full of idle chatter and small jokes. Rikku was surprised at how kind Riolen was. It had been some time since she had met a boy who was as nice as him. All other guys seemed to be either jerks or just someone she wasn't attracted to.
Then there was Gippal.
Rikku paused in mid-thought, wondering why his face suddenly appeared in her mind.
"This is my house," she replied as they stopped in front.
"Wow, your parents must be rich," Riolen laughed, looking up at the tall house.
Rikku scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. "Nah, not really."
"Really? Who's your father?" he asked curiously.
"Er...Cid."
Riolen's eyes grew large. "Wow, really?! THE Cid? That's awesome!" he exclaimed in surprise.
Rikku stood smiling hesitantly, knowing that everyone reacted that way whenever they found out that Cid was her dad.
Riolen smiled down at her, reaching down to pick up her hand. Her eyes widened as he raised her hand to his lips. "Here's to meeting you, m'lady. I hope we see each other again."
They both looked up as the front door to the house suddenly opened. Rikku froze, seeing Gippal standing at the entrance. He stood for a few more seconds before heading towards them.
Rikku felt her mouth growing dry, and she felt her face becoming warmer and warmer as he neared them.
Gippal stopped and looked back and forth between the two of them, before his eyes rested on Rikku. She smiled nervously.
"Oh, Riolen. This is my friend, Gippal. He's living with me for the summer." Rikku mentally slapped herself for how that came out.
Idiot! 'Living with me for the summer?!!' Why did I say it like that?!!
"Nice to meet you, Gippal," Riolen spoke up, extending a hand. The two of them shook hands.
Rikku glanced up at Gippal's face, noting how stern it looked.
He seems mad about something. Is it because of this morning when I left? Or maybe last night?
"Well, Rikku. I'll be heading off now. It was a pleasure meeting you," Riolen said suddenly, interrupting her thoughts.
She smiled. "Oh, right! Same here, Riolen! Thanks again for the gloves!"
Gippal glanced down at the bag in her hands. He frowned.
Rikku waved one last time before Riolen's form had disappeared around the corner. She turned around ready to head into the house, but was stopped by the troubled look on Gippal's face.
"Are you...okay?" she asked, even if she knew that he wasn't going to respond.
He simply pointed down at the bag in her hand.
"This? It's uh...Riolen bought them for me," Rikku explained nervously.
Wait, why do I need to explain myself to Gippal?! It's none of his business!
He didn't say anything after that and neither did she. Without another word, Rikku headed back into the house, leaving Gippal alone in the front yard.
xxx
That night, Rikku lay awake on the mattress in her own room. There was no doubt about it. Gippal was mad at her. After she had come back from the shop that morning, she tried every trick she could to get Gippal to lose the bet. But...to no avail. Gippal just didn't seem to listen or react to her moves on him.
She turned on her side.
Grrr! It makes me so mad...but it's too late now. He's mad at me, so he's really not going to want to talk or be near me anyway.
Preparing to face her loss in the next few hours when morning came, Rikku groaned.
xxx
The morning sunlight was hot against her face, and it was enough to jar her out of her sleep. She shifted her body with a sigh, cracking her eyes open slowly. They snapped open suddenly.
"What...are you doing in here?!" Rikku exclaimed upon seeing Gippal seated on the floor beside her mattress.
"Just makin' sure you live up to your side of the bargain," Gippal spoke, smirking.
She groaned, putting her head under her pillow. "Ok! Ok! You win! But what makes you so sure that I'll actually become your slave?!" Rikku spoke out to him. Her voice sounded muffled.
Gippal grabbed the pillow from her head and laughed. "That's right. I won. No cheats or anything. Now...turn around and face me."
Rikku remained motionless as she stayed on her stomach, her face away from him. "Argh...isn't your victory enough? Now you gotta embarrass me some more?"
He laughed again. "You know, I kinda missed annoying the hell outta you like this!"
"Funny," she spat out, finally turning herself over.
"Yup. You're right. It IS funny that I ended up winning," Gippal laughed again, hauling himself up on his feet. He opened the door to her room and smiled at her before leaving. "Meet me downstairs soon. I have some orders for you."
Rikku sat up, crossing her arms defiantly. "Yeah right!"
She watched as he shut the door and in for a lack of nothing else to do, she flopped back down on her back. For some reason her mind strayed off to think of Riolen. She couldn't help but compare him to Gippal. She looked at the new gloves he had bought for her that were on the table.
If Gippal was like that, we would probably get along better. But noooo...he had to be a jerk.
Rikku sighed, deciding that now was not the time to be thinking about guys. She would probably never understand them anyway.
A few minutes later she headed downstairs and into the living room. Even from the top of the staircase, she could see Gippal waiting for her. Rikku studied him. He seemed so serious now.
"Hm...what's with you all of a sudden?" she asked, a hand on her hip. "I'm the one who's supposed to be sad here!"
Gippal looked up at her, raising an eyebrow. "Hey, who was guy from yesterday anyway? Rio...uh..." he trailed off, scratching the back of his head. His question surprised her. She was expecting him to say something else.
Rikku rolled her eyes. "You mean Riolen?"
He nodded.
"He was just a guy I met at the shop," she shrugged, heading towards the chair. His eyes followed her as she sat down. "He was nice though. Bought me these gloves," Rikku explained, holding her arms up.
Gippal walked over to her, running a hand quickly through his hair. "And you just met?"
Rikku looked up at him, nodding. "Yeah, it was strange that he bought 'em for me and everything, but he's a really nice guy." She paused, raising an eyebrow. "Why do you want to know anyway?"
He turned around, shaking his head. "Nothing, no reason. Just curious, I guess." He faced her again, a smirk on his face. "You guys just seemed so close or something..." he trailed off.
She stood, beginning to blush. "S-So what if we were? It doesn't mean I like him or anything!" Rikku listened to herself, wondering why she was purposely trying to make him jealous.
Argh...what's wrong with me?!
"Oh really?" Gippal said. He stopped in front of her, his face lowering dangerously close to hers. She tried to keep herself from turning her face away in embarrassment. "So who do you like then, Rikku?" he whispered teasingly.
Her eyes widened and she pushed him away, suddenly remembering how she eavesdropped on Gippal and that girl talking about who Gippal liked. "N-None of your business!" she stuck her tongue out at him.
Gippal raised his eyebrows at her response. "So you do like someone, don't you? Anyone I know?" he chuckled.
Rikku began to walk towards the kitchen, ignoring his question.
"Your first order is to tell me," he called out with a laugh, enjoying her reaction towards him. He followed after her.
"Go away!" she responded.
As Gippal entered, he saw her at the stove, beginning to make breakfast. He seated himself at the table and leaned back in the chair, watching her. "Then answer me this, Rikku."
She paused for a moment and he smiled.
"Is it me?"
Rikku froze and she spun around to face him, her face bright red.
End of Chapter 6
A/N: Oooh, sorry to end it there! See you in Chapter 7!
