Chapter 64: Unwritten

I am unwritten

Can't read my mind

I'm undefined

I'm just beginning

The pen's in my hand

Ending unplanned

Staring at the blank page before you

Open up the dirty window

Let the sun illuminate the words that you can not find

Reaching for something in the distance

So close you can almost tasted it

Release your inhibitions

Feel the rain on your skin

No one else can feel it for you

Only you can let it in

Speak the words on your lips

Drench yourselves in words unspoken

Live your life with arms wide open

Today is where your book begins

The rest is still unwritten

Unwritten – Natasha Bedingfield

There was a feeling of intense excitement. Cameras went off and reporters were smiling with their microphones.

"The atmosphere here is incredible! Everyone is excited, waiting for the arrival of Rufus Shinra and Kelly West, stars of tonight's premiere, Secret Life! And that's not all, because not only are the Turks joining us but we're also going to be seeing, fresh from her honeymoon, Aeris Gainsborough. Except now we're calling her Aeris Valentine!"

Kelly and Rufus arrived, arm in arm and waving excitedly. They stopped to talk to the reporters, the usual stuff about how excited they were about the film, praising their colleagues. Another car drew up and the Turks climbed out, in their blue suits. Reno and Elena held hands as they waved, signing autographs and talking to the reporters.

A third car arrived and everyone started to scream as the door opened. A young man, in his early twenties stepped out. He wore a smart suit, his dark hair falling to his collar. His dark red eyes glinted strangely, but he was smiling. He held out his hand and the woman in the car took it as she stepped out. Dressed in an elegant green dress that was the same gorgeous shade as her large eyes, her light brown hair tumbled down to her waist in beautiful curls. She was stunning and the smile on her face only made her more so. A diamond ring and golden band rested on her ring finger.

"It's her! It's Aeris!" People screamed. She laughed and waved, still holding hands with her husband. A reporter said excitedly,

"Aeris, Vincent, how was the honeymoon?" they turned to the camera and smiled. Aeris replied,

"It was fantastic, I loved it. I'm so excited to be here!"

"When did you get back?" someone else shouted.

"Yesterday morning." Aeris replied.

The Turks came over to greet them and Reno winked at Aeris.

"You look hot!"

"Hey, she's married." Elena said, elbowing him. Aeris smiled and looked up at Vincent. Another reporter called their names and they turned. James grinned at them.

"Hey. Can I get a picture?"

"Depends. What story are you going to put with it?" she asked teasingly. James laughed.

"Good stuff only. I promise."

Aeris and Vincent stood for his photo and then moved down the red carpet towards the doors to the building. They stood at the door and waved one last time before entering.

The door to Barret's Café opened. If you looked around, at a glance you would see nothing particularly unusual. University students talking, working, laughing. The enormous black man behind the counter laughing with a customer, the pretty waitress pouring coffee.

And if you looked over at the corner table, you'd see a group of students, clearly friends talking. Three males and two girls. The waitress unties her apron and goes to sit with them. One of the boys puts his arm about her shoulders, smiling cheerfully.

And this was what Aeris loved. Being anonymous for a while, just another student in one of Midgar's many café's. Tifa smiled at her,

"Only one week left. Scared?"

"Terrified! We're going out into the big wide world." She laughed in reply. Vincent smiled slightly.

"It's not that bad. I've been out here for three years now."

"Well, you're going to have to look after me, because if you leave me by myself I'm going to freak out!" Aeris warned him. Yuffie snorted and said,

"I can just Aeris running around screaming in terror, running in front of cars and scaring people in the streets!"

"Hey!" Aeris said, swiping at her.

They all laughed. Yuffie said quietly,

"I told Dad I'm not going back to Wutai."

"What did he say?" Aeris asked.

"Well, once he was done with the shouting part he asked exactly what I intended to do if I wasn't going to go and work for him. So I told him that I was going to be working for Midgar Media and he became delighted and started planning ways to incorporate the two companies."

"A true businessman!" Tifa laughed. Yuffie grinned.

"Yeah. Plus, I think we'll get on better if we're not on the same continent. And he's delighted that I'm moving in with Reeve too. He thinks he's a 'wonderful young man with many prospects'." Reeve started to laugh uncontrollably and started to choke. Cloud whacked him on the back until he stopped.

"Don't know about the 'many prospects' part. I'm happy enough working at Midgar Electronics for now!" Reeve said.

Aeris looked over at Tifa.

"And you're starting your own Martial Arts school here in Midgar."

"Joint with Zangan. He's been so great, I don't know what I'd do without him." Tifa agreed.

"You'll be great. Although, your wonderful talents as a waitress will be missed." Cloud said sincerely. Tifa laughed and said,

"Dad'll find someone else easily enough. There are always some students looking for part time work."

Yuffie looked over at Aeris.

"And what about you? Where are you headed now?"

"Music stuff. Mike's still on at me to produce an album."

"And you don't want to?" Tifa said disbelievingly. Aeris shook her head.

"It's not that I don't want to. It'd be great. I just… I always thought that I'd be a songwriter, not a singer. But, hey, I might give it a shot. If I crash and burn I've got enough cash to migrate somewhere for a few months!"

"You'll be amazing. You always are." Vincent told her. She smiled up at him and chuckled.

"You have to say that. You're my husband."

"I know. But I mean it." He said frankly.

Aeris' mobile began to ring and she answered.

"Aeris speaking."

"Only me."

"Hey Reno, what's up?"

"I kinda need your help with Elena."

"Reno, what did you do now?" Aeris sighed. He sounded mortally offended.

"I didn't do anything! She's being ridiculous!"

"What happened?" Aeris demanded.

"Well, she was trying on this new dress and she asked me if I thought she looked fat. So I looked at her and before I could say anything she started screaming at me and stormed out!"

"Reno, you NEVER look at a woman when she asks if you think she's fat!"

Everyone at the table made agreeing motions.

"Well what do I do?"

"Go and buy her chocolates. Now! Tell her you love her, etc. and then take her to dinner somewhere romantic. Go, man, for the good of the city!" She said, jokingly. Reno snorted.

"OK. See you later." Aeris hung up and shook her head.

"For goodness sake, when we got those two together I didn't realise it was going to be a permanent job keeping them together!"

"They'd be perfect if they weren't both so energetic. They're always finding new ways to annoy each other." Yuffie agreed.

Barret brought a pot of coffee over and started to refill their cups.

"Ready for graduation?"

"Can't wait!" Yuffie said, drinking her coffee. Tifa said,

"Marlene said that she and Mike can definitely come to the graduation, and to the party afterwards."

"About that – are you sure you guys wouldn't just rather go to the university's party? I mean, I'm OK with you coming here but…" Barret suggested. Cloud said,

"It just that we spent the best days of our university experience here. We started out here. It seems sort of fitting that we end it here as well."

"Yeah. It was our second day, wasn't it Cloud? We agreed to meet here. In fact… that was the first time I saw you." Aeris said, looking at Vincent.

"See? It was the beginning of an era and this is the ending." Yuffie put in. Barret held his hands up.

"OK, no problem. I'll sort everything out."

"You're the best, Barret." Reeve smiled.

Aeris sniffed and Cloud looked at her flatly.

"Are you going to start crying again?"

"Crying again?" Tifa asked curiously. Aeris looked aloof.

"There's no shame in being sad about this."

"There's shame in running into my room to make sure that I've still got your email address, because you're scared we'll lose contact. Despite the fact we've been friends since we were midgets." Cloud pointed out.

"Hey, I was freaking out! I'd just had my last one-on-one and I was emotional."

Cloud sniggered and Aeris kicked him under the table. He winced, clutching his bruised shin.

"Boy, you're mean."

"You're only just figuring this out?" Reeve asked. Aeris stuck her tongue out. Vincent smiled at her and she laughed.

"OK, I'll stop. Come on, we should be celebrating! We survived university. If that doesn't deserve a celebration, I don't know what does!"

"Hey, we've still got a week to go. Let's not tempt fate." Tifa warned. Yuffie snorted.

"A week? Come on, what could possibly happen in a week?"

The graduation ceremony. Standing in alphabetical order, all dressed in graduation robes, feeling uncomfortably warm, the students waited to take their certificates. It seemed to take forever. Once the certificates were received a student, chosen by the professors, was supposed to make a speech. The student who had been chosen this year was Cloud Strife.

Aeris sat with a smile on her face as Cloud approached the podium. He cleared his throat and smiled at his classmates.

"Hi. I'm Cloud Strife and I've been asked to say a few words about today. But… today isn't really what's important. We haven't spent the last three, four years preparing for today."

He looked around and then said,

"We're preparing for tomorrow. For the future. I don't know what sort of future it's going to be, for any of us. And I'm not going to stand here and make predictions. Because it's not my choice. It's up to you, what you want to do. Our futures are like a book that hasn't been finished. Our endings are unwritten. So when we leave this place, we're going to start writing whatever future it is that we want. That's what we've spent this time preparing for. Each of us can go out and write out plans and hopes for the future and I know each of us can achieve our dreams and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Because we're unwritten."

Warm applause and Cloud stepped back down to his seat. He grinned at Aeris as he sat down and she stuck her tongue out.

At the end of the ceremony, an enormous cheer went up. Aeris pushed through the crowd, found Cloud and hugged him tightly.

"We did it! We actually did it!" she squealed.

"I know, Aeris! My god, I never thought this day would come!" Cloud grinned. Aeris laughed and shrieked as Yuffie threw herself through the crowd and hugged her so tightly her ribs started to ache.

After many tears, hugs, kisses and cheers the group moved, with their families towards Barret's café. Tifa laughed when she saw it.

"Wow, Dad! Way to go!" the café was decorated with banners and balloons and looked incredible. Barret grinned.

"It's not everyday my little girl graduates!" he said, hugging her tightly. Marlene hugged her sister too.

"Congratulations, Tifa! I'm so proud of you!"

Aeris looked around at her friends. Yuffie was hugging her Dad, Reeve was talking with his parents, who despite being divorced, had both agreed to come for the occasion. The Turks were all talking with Mike and Barret. Infalna and Matthew smiled at their daughter and hugged her.

"Well done, Aeris. We're so proud of you."

"I can't believe I made it…" Aeris laughed.

Matthew and Infalna looked at each other Matthew said,

"We bought you a present. A graduation present." Aeris grinned.

"Ooh, presents! What is it?" Matthew went into the backroom of the café and emerged with a guitar case. Aeris' mouth fell open as she snapped the case open and stared at the guitar inside.

"Oh my god, it's gorgeous!"

"Handmade, one of a kind. Especially for you." Infalna said, squeezing her daughter's shoulders. Aeris squealed and hugged her parents tightly.

"You guys are the best! I can't believe it!"

Vincent was also subjected to hugs from her parents, not that he seemed to mind too much. Whilst he was talking to them Aeris examined her new guitar. Rude came over to look and whistled.

"Wow."

"Isn't it incredible?" Aeris said, poring over it in admiration.

"Looks it. But how does it sound?" Aeris eyed him.

"Is that a very non-subtle way of getting me to play?" he put on an innocent expression.

"Maybe."

Aeris laughed and took the guitar out. She started to play a quick tune, plucking the strings and grinning at the perfect sound coming from them. She laughed as Cloud came over and said,

"Check you out! Cool guitar, Aeris."

They sat down around several tables that had been pushed together, plates piled high with food, drinks all around. Barret grinned.

"Who wants to make the toast?"

"I already did my public speaking." Cloud said. Yuffie shrugged.

"I'm just a loudmouth. I don't say anything work hearing!"

"I talk all the time, someone else can do it." Aeris said quickly. Reeve shrugged.

"I don't know what to say."

All eyes fell on Tifa. She glared around.

"No fair. I had my mouth full."

"You snooze, you lose. Get talking." Yuffie said shamelessly. Tifa snorted and looked around.

"Uh… well… good three years. We're all still breathing. Well done us. Cheers!" she lifted her glass.

"Short but sweet." Marlene said cheerfully, raising her own glass. They all knocked their glasses together and fell into cheerful talkativeness. Aeris sat between Cloud and Vincent, moving from conversation to conversation. Vincent touched her hand.

"Everything OK?"

"Everything is perfect. I'm kinda sad, but really happy at the same time. It's weird." She told him, laughing. Vincent smiled.

"And this is only the beginning. Things can only get better."

"Here's hoping!"

"Oh, things will definitely be getting better for you, Aeris. I've got four interviews lined up and I want you in the studio first thing on Monday morning to record a song." Mike told her, from across the table. Aeris stared at him.

"Really?"

"Absolutely. Don't care which song, you choose. This is just a sound test, so you can do what you want. I also spoke to Alyssa Raven. You know her?"

"Of course I do!" Alyssa Raven was a singer from Wutai. Aeris loved her sound. Mike grinned at her.

"She's requested an Aeris Gainsborough original."

"You're joking!"

"I don't joke about things like this. 10:30, Monday, be there. Alyssa will be meeting us there."

Aeris simply stared at him across the table. Cloud waved a hand in front of her eyes but she didn't move.

"We've lost her." Cloud said, biting into a sandwich.

Monday morning arrived and Aeris went into the recording studio, her guitar case over one shoulder, her lyrics book in her other hand. She smiled at the receptionist who grinned and pointed her towards a room.

Aeris opened the door and looked in. Mike grinned at her.

"There she is. Aeris, this is Alyssa Raven." Aeris put down her guitar and book and shook hands with the young woman, who smiled brightly.

"It's great to meet you Aeris. I've been so nervous about meeting you!"

"You've been nervous about meeting me? Why?" Aeris said, genuinely surprised. Alyssa laughed.

"Well, you're such a good songwriter! I'm a little intimidated."

Mike laughed and looked at Aeris.

"Got a song picked out?"

"Of course. I've been practising all weekend."

"Well, I'll let you to chat whilst I get things sorted in the tech room." Mike said. Alyssa and Aeris sat down and Alyssa said,

"Mike said you just graduated."

"Yeah, last Friday."

"Midgar University?"

"Yeah, Music and Literature." Aeris confirmed. Alyssa smiled and said,

"Ready to break into the music business. Although it looks like you've already got one foot in the door."

"I've been extremely lucky." Aeris confirmed.

Alyssa glanced down at her left hand and grinned.

"I heard you were married. You're so young!"

"I got married two years ago, after my first year at university." Aeris smiled. Alyssa looked surprised.

"Really?"

"Yeah. It was supposed to be a long term engagement, but my husband sort of made it this big surprise. He basically told me to show up at the church and when I got there I found everyone waiting, with my dress all ready and everything."

"Oh my god, that's so romantic." Alyssa sighed. Aeris laughed and nodded.

"Vincent's a romantic guy, at heart."

Alyssa laughed and then said,

"OK, so Mike told you that I wanted a song."

"He did, yes."

"Got any ideas?" Alyssa asked. Aeris opened her lyrics book and took several sheets of paper out.

"These are the ones aside for you to look at. There are a couple of my old songs in there, ones I wrote a while ago, but some of them are brand new. Your choice."

Alyssa flicked through the sheets in amazement.

"These are amazing."

"Thanks, I-"

"Aeris, we're ready for you now." Mike called. Aeris smiled and picked up her guitar.

"OK."

She took a seat in the recording booth and they set to work.

(A/N: I am SO sorry this took so long. No excuse, I just felt so uninspired to write it. Stupid writer's block. And also, I got a temporary ban. This chapter was ready over a week ago. Anyway, one more chapter to go. I'll try to get it out quicker than this one. But I have been working on an idea for the last chapter, so you'll get a bit of a surprise there. Please leave a review, love you all loads. Katie.)