Okay, I was quite impressed with this chapter, except for the fact that it goes kind of fast. I want it that way though! Anyway, it's terribly hard to choose between Tidus' point of view and Yuna's point of view, but for some reason, the thing isn't saving! Anyway, even though it's hard to choose which point of view it is, do your best, and over all, enjoy!
Chapter 4: There is no Such Thing as Love
"Huh? What?" Seymour said, and looked up at the screen, "You just looking at that guy your flit of a friend wants to date?"
"Him? He's the Brutes' Star Player? But he's the jerk who crashed into me!" Yuna yelled.
"Whatever," Seymour just slurred, and was looking a little buzzed.
"Hey Seymour," Yuna said sweetly, "Wanna hand me my drink? I'm feeling a little thirsty."
"Oh, sure," Seymour said, and fumbled around until he handed Yuna her glass.
Yuna smiled sweetly, as Seymour watched her, but then quickly threw the wine into Seymour's eyes, getting the violet wine in his hair, and everywhere else.
"Aww!" Seymour screamed, and Yuna jumped up, deciding she'd had quite enough of everything. However, she couldn't just do what she had done to Rikku, no matter how selfish Rikku had been toward her.
So, on her way out the door, Yuna slid the two invitations to the party out of Seymour's jacket and walked casually out of the box, leaving Seymour rubbing at his eyes.
"Yunie? What are you doing? Oh man, does this totally ruin my chances?"
"Not exactly," Yuna said, squeezing in next to her cousin and flashing her the invitation, "Look what Seymour gave me anyway!"
"Oh, good. Now my Blitzball player and me can live happily ever after!" Rikku said, turning her attention back to the game.
"Do you know who that Blitzball player is?" Yuna asked her cousin, interrupting her cousin's helpless attept to focus on the game.
"Yeah, he's Bevelle's biggest hottie," Rikku just replied.
"No, he's the jerk who crashed into me!" Yuna said.
"What? He's the one who crashed into you?" Rikku finally gave Yuna her full attention, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"I just now realized it," Yuna said, "But let's just not think about it, okay?"
"I just can't believe you like met him and didn't give him my phone number!" Rikku just cried.
"Rikku, I told you, I didn't know who he was," Yuna just said, leaing back in her far less comfortable chair than the one in Seymour's box.
The game continued on, and as much as Yuna wanted to pay attention to it, she found it nearly impossible.
"Dang, my man's even better than I thought!" Yuna heard Rikku say a few times, "Too bad Zanarkand's a way better team than the Brutes! We're losing, but Tidus is definitely the best out there!"
Pretty soon, the final horn blew, indicating that the game was over.
"How bad did we lose?" Yuna asked the disappointed Rikku.
"Seven to six. Definitely a close game. Especially when it was Tidus that scored all six of our points. He could have taken this team on all by himself! He was on fire!"
"That's nice," Yuna just said, "Ready for the after party?"
"You bet I am!" Rikku squealed, "Did you know that all the players will be there? It'll be like a V.I.P. kind of party! This is so exciting! I don't care how terrible Seymour is! In this case, he totally rocks!"
"Yeah, whatever," Yuna just mumbled, glad she hadn't spent the game with him.
"Come on Yunie!" Rikku cried, "We so don't want to be late for the party! I want to get there when...Tidus...Makes his big appearance!"
"I thought when you got your hands on the person that crashed into me," Yuna said as Rikku took her arm and dragged her toward the exit of the stadium, "You were going to hurt him."
"Oh, I'll hurt him alright!" Rikku said, and let out yet another squeal, "Let's just pray that I can get my hands on him! Where is the party, anyway?"
"It's at the grand hall," Yuna said, "I remember my father complaining about how the grand hall was being used for a Blitzball party."
"Okay, then let's go!" Rikku cried, as she forced open the doors as they exited the arena. It was dusk, and the streets were now crowded with the many people from the game, and those who didn't attend the game.
"If your dad knew where you were now," Rikku said to Yuna almost teasingly as they joined the line leading into the grand hall, "He probably wouldn't be too happy, would he."
"If I was with Seymour...Then it'd be fine," Yuna said softly, almost more to herself.
"Come on Yunie, show him the invitations already! This is so cool!"
"Here's our invitations," Yuna said, holding the invitations to the large man who was standing at then entrance.
"Okay, go on in," the man said, and Rikku's eyes shone even brighter than ever before.
"Yunie, I so owe you big time!" Rikku cried as the man opened the door and Yuna and Rikku walked into the loud dancing area.
"Yes you do," Yuna said, smiling. It wasn't too often that she did exactly what she wanted to do, but she promised herself that this night was her night. Especially since it was technically the last night before returning to school.
"Oh my...Wow!" Rikku was now saying, as she spun around in a circle, looking at all of the different things, different people.
"This place looks so much different than when I come here with my father," Yuna laughed, as she watched her cousin's eyes grow wider, and wider.
"Attention everybody!" a man was saying from the stage in the middle of the large room, "Before we can begin, let's first welcome our very own Bevelle Brutes! They played a great game anyway, didn't they?"
Roars of cheering was heard, and Yuna covered her ears as Rikku let out an ear-piercing scream.
People behind the two girls began to make an aisle for the players, so Rikku and Yuna made way, and soon the players, dressed in nice suits, came running through the middle.
"Look Yunie! There he is!" Rikku squealed as the familiar looking blonde Blitzball player passed them slowly, waving.
"I love you Tidus!" Rikku screamed loudly, making Yuna roll her eyes.
The Blitzball player looked over there ways, smiling at his fans, only to have his smile disappear as his blue eyes suddenly met Yuna's mis-matched ones.
He stared at her for some time, as if wondering where he'd seen her before, but was then pushed by his teammates from behind, and shook it off, putting a smile on again.
"Did you see that?" Rikku gasped, "He was looking straight at me!"
Yuna didn't reply. She just kept staring at the young man who had caused her to lose her license.
There was screaming then, and the announcer finally cried, "Let the party begin!"
"Did you see the look he was giving me!" Rikku continued to cry to herself, "He practically said "Will you marry me me!"'
"He looked more...Startled...," Yuna mused to herself, watching the blonde from across the room. He was chatting casually with his teammates, signing a few autographs, and over all looked like he was quite enjoying himself.
"I'm going to go talk to him!" Rikku finally squealed, "Come on Yunie!"
She grabbed Yuna's arm, and pulled her through the crowd toward the Blitzball player.
"No, Rikku, remember who he is?" Yuna cried, as Rikku dragged her.
"Yeah, a total hottie! Look, I know you have...Gippal...But I'm sure Tidus could hook you up with someone too!"
"But Rikku, I don't want to see him!" Yuna cried, pulling her arm out of his grip.
"Fine, but I'm still going to!" Rikku cried, and walked over toward the group.
"Whatever," Yuna just said softly, knowing her cousin's chances were quite slim. Then, still shaking her head, Yuna went over toward a chair, and slumped down in it, eyeing the many people.
"Those eyes...Hm...Where was it that I saw those mis-matched eyes on, Tidus! Think!"
"Yo Tidus, so, you okay? Anyway, after I made that pass, then you caught it, and..."
"Where have I seen those eyes...Where have I seen that girl..."
Suddenly something tapping him on the shoulder caused his thoughts to slip away from him, and he turned around to face a green-eyed blonde girl, who was smiling at him.
"Just some fan..."
"An autograph?" Tidus asked, pulling out his pen. These moron fans, always bugging him when he's trying to think.
"Uh, no...You were...Uh...Looking at me earlier?" Rikku blushed.
"No, I wasn't looking at you," Tidus said, and then remembered that this blonde girl had been standing next to the mysterious mis-matched eye girl, "Who was that girl next to you?"
"Huh?" The blonde girl looked confused, "You mean Yunie? Oh, she's just my cousin."
"Your cousin..." Tidus' voice trailed. "Maybe there was nothing familiar about her."
"Anyway, I'm a huge fan of yours!" Rikku quirked.
"Right," Tidus just said slowly, and turned back to his friends.
Rikku looked stubbornly at the back of the Blitzball player, her lip sticking out.
"Hey you!" she said loudly over the music, tapping him on the shoulder again, "Anyway, since you were looking at me earlier..."
"I wasn't looking at you," Tidus said, rolling his eyes and scrawling out his name on a sheet of paper, "Here, this is my autograph. Okay? You can leave now."
"But you were looking at me!" Rikku whined as Tidus handed her his autograph, "You were looking right at me!"
"I wasn't looking at you," Tidus repeated himself, "I was looking at the brunette next to you. Got it? Good."
He turned back to his teammates again, leaving Rikku looking quite angry.
"Checking out Yuna, huh?" Rikku cried, hitting the Blitzball star softly on the shoulder, "Well, she already has a boyfriend. And besides, according to her, you're just a big meanie and she hates you for making her lose her chances at getting her license! And you owe her a new car, you big meanie!" Then, huffily, Rikku stormed off, deciding to find Yuna.
"How do I owe her lame cousin a new..." Tidus stopped, and it suddenly hit him where he had seen the mis-matched eye girl. She was the girl whom he had crashed into a day or two ago.
"No, wait, she crashed into me," Tidus said, and satisfied, turned back to his teammates.
"Let's go Yunie. That...That...That meanie, Tidus, or whatever his stupid name was, is just a big jerk! I want to go home!"
"Calm down Rikku," Yuna said calmly. She was sitting in the back room of the grand hall, where it was remotely quiet and calm. The couple across the room, making out were a little disturbing, but Yuna had simply chosen to ignore them.
"He may be cute, but he's a huge jerk!" Rikku raved, "See, that could be him and me," Rikku pointed to the couple across the room, "But no, he's a jerk. All he was interested in was you."
"Me? Why me?" Yuna asked, taking her eyes off of the couple across the room.
"Who knows. He was checking you out, or so he told me," Rikku cried, thrusting Tidus' autograph at Yuna, "He's a huge loser. A big meanie. Nothing but. Anyways, I want to go home. Now!" Rikku stormed off, but then stopped.
"Actually, never mind Yunie!" she said in a high-pitched voice, "I just laid eyes upon my future husband! I don't know who he is, but I'm going to go find out!"
That was just like Rikku. Always getting angry over something, but then completely forgetting it in the next second.
Yuna shook her head, and finally smiled to herself and stood up. Right now she simply wanted some peace and quiet, before she had to return to her hectic life back at her house. She remembered the one and only place that she ever enjoyed going to when she visited the grand hall, and that was the balcony at the top of the building.
The balcony overlooked the entire city, and to Yuna, it was definitely beautiful at night, when all of the city's lights shone.
Yuna walked casually to the balcony, feeling the beautiful breeze from the late summer night as she leaned on the railing, staring out into the night.
"He's dancing with that blonde chick that was bothering me earlier? Hm, a good catch for him, I suppose." Tidus ran his hand through his hair as he watched one of his teammates dancing with the green-eyed girl who wouldn't leave him alone only moments earlier.
"Yeah, and I see someone I'm gonna go dance with," Tidus' only remaining teammate who wasn't occupied said, as he eyed a girl who walked past him, "This is the life, ain't it? Play some game, then get the chicks. Definitely works for me."
He stood up, leaving Tidus to himself, and followed the girl.
"Yeah, whatever," Tidus mumbled to himself, as he stood up. Suddenly everything seemed to quiet down, which was nice for Tidus, being that he had been slammed in the head earlier in the game, which had in return resulted in a headache, but only a slight one. Still, the pounding music didn't do much for him.
He knew of a lovely place where he could get some peace and quiet, probably the only place he could get some peace an quiet.
"The breeze is so nice," Yuna said softly to herself, leaning forward.
"Yeah, it is."
Startled, Yuna turned around sharply, to see the familiar blue-eyed Blitzball player.
"Hey, it's you, uh, Yuna was it?" he said, looking startled himself.
"What are you doing here?" Yuna demanded, narrowing her brows angrily at the young man who stood there, still looking somewhat startled to see her.
"I always come here," he said, now narrowing his brows back at her.
"No, I always come here," Yuna said.
"I don't think so. It's me that always comes here."
"Then why haven't I ever seen you here before?" Yuna looked away from him at the question.
"Well, why haven't I ever seen you here before?" he asked in return, still looking at her angrily.
"I don't know!" Yuna finally finished, trying to concentrate on the city before her, on the nice breeze, instead of on the jerk who still stood there, as if expecting her to leave.
"This is basically my party," Tidus said, "So I think I have the right to be here."
"My father practically owns this building!" Yuna roared at him, "So I think I have the right to be here."
"And your father is...?" Tidus just said, raising his eyebrows.
"Lord Braska," Yuna said, placing her hands on her hips.
"Yeah right. The Lord Braska? I don't think so," Tidus just said.
"It's true! He's my father. Either that, or you're not the star player of the Bevelle Brutes," Yuna said, angry at him.
"Whatever, this is still my place," Tidus said, and now it was he who looked away from Yuna.
"No, it's mine!" Yuna said, "But really, if you're going to be here, then I might as well leave."
"No, I'm leaving!" Tidus said, and started toward the door.
"No, I'm leaving!" Yuna cried, and soon Yuna and Tidus were racing to see who could get to the door first.
"Fine," Tidus said, "Go ahead and leave. I don't care."
Not being able to accept the fact that she had basically lost, Yuna said, "No, I'm staying. You can leave."
"Fine, I will," Tidus said, and started toward the door again.
"No, I'm leaving!" Yuna cried.
Tidus started to laugh, which just angered Yuna even more.
"Can't you make up your mind?" Tidus asked between his laughter, "I mean, first you're staying, then you're leaving, and then you're staying."
"You're the same way!" Yuna argued.
"Yeah, but I'm not nearly as bad as you are."
"Yes you are!"
"No I'm not."
"Yes you are!"
"No I'm not!"
"Yes you are!"
"No I'm not!"
"Yes you are!"
"Fine. Maybe I am," Tidus finally said tiredly and turned around, placing his hands on the balcony, "I come up here every night of a party. How about you?"
"I come up here whenever I'm visiting with my father," Yuna said softly.
"Do you often get lonely up here?" Tidus asked her, and he looked quite in thought.
"Yeah, I do," Yuna said softly.
"Me too," Tidus said slowly.
"How come none of your teammates join you?" Yuna asked, standing next to Tidus' side and leaning over the railing also, staring into the night.
"They're not really my friends or anything," Tidus said softly, "What about you? Why doesn't your cousin, or whoever she is, come up here too?"
"She doesn't know I come up here," Yuna said softly, "Tonight is her first time even in this building."
"Yeah, I don't exactly tell people I come up here," Tidus said, "It's kind of that way, when you don't have any friends."
"You don't have any friends? But you probably know so many people, and so many people know you, and..."
"And none of those people are my friends," Tidus finished for Yuna, as he laid his head in his arms, still staring into the nothingness of the night.
"I don't have too many friends myself," Yuna said, "I've always allowed my father to tell me who to be friends with, besides Rikku, my cousin."
"Yeah, my old man's always told me what to do too."
There was silence then, as the two just stood there, staring at the many lights, both thinking different thoughts.
Tidus turned and faced her then, still leaning casually on the railing.
"So, you're...Lonely?" Tidus asked her, and Yuna looked up at him, feeling startled again.
"Well, yeah, I guess," Yuna said. She'd never really thought about it before. Still, when she thought of his question, she figured it was mostly true.
Tidus stared at Yuna, although Yuna knew his mind wasn't on her. He was obviously thinking of something else.
"Are you in love?" Tidus asked this question, almost as if it wasn't even directed at Yuna.
"What?" Yuna asked, now feeling startled. Her heart seemed to speed, and she suddenly felt somewhat clammy.
"Are you in love?" Tidus repeated his question, calmly, almost thoughtfully.
"There is no such thing as love," Yuna said, holding her shaky voice firm.
"I completely agree with you," Tidus said, nodding, but not taking his eyes away from her own.
"Okay. Well, then that's it." Yuna's heart was beating wildly. His eyes seemed to study hers, and she wondered what it was he was thinking.
"Okay. Then that's it," Tidus repeated Yuna, but still didn't look away from her eyes.
Silence. The two just stood there, continuing to stare into each other's eyes, as if not knowing what to do; as if afraid to even blink.
Yuna swallowed. She hated being the first to give in, but she couldn't hold the question back any longer.
"Do you really believe that?" she asked him, almost cautiously, "Do you believe there is no such thing as love?"
Tidus nodded slightly. "You're the one who said it," Tidus reminded her, "Surely you believe it also?"
Yuna tipped her head forward, as if to agree with him, but then stopped.
"I don't know what I believe," she finally said, allowing her voice to shake.
"I've never felt it," Tidus said, finally taking his eyes away from hers, "And it's no lie."
"Well I haven't felt it either," Yuna said, taking her eyes away from him, "And I never will."
"Yeah, me neither," Tidus said, and stuffed his hands absently into his deep pockets.
To Yuna's amazement, her eyes were growing blurry and wet, but she didn't want to cry in front of Tidus, the Blitzball Jerk. It was the last thing she was going to do.
"Do you want to feel it?" Tidus asked her, as he looked back at her.
"Huh?" Yuna was feeling startled again, "No, I don't."
"Me neither," Tidus agreed with her, but there was almost a pleading look in his icy blue eyes, and for once, Yuna saw some warmth coming from them.
Tidus walked past her, and leaned on the railing of the balcony, staring out into the streets below. The breeze gently blew his hair, and Yuna could only stare at him, wondering again what it was he was thinking about.
"People say it's a good feeling," Tidus said finally, breaking the silence.
"I wouldn't know," Yuna just said, as she walked slowly up to Tidus, and stood beside him, also staring into the star-filled night, "I've never really felt it before."
"Is that why you don't believe in it?" Tidus asked, his familiar cocky smile appearing on his face.
"Maybe," Yuna said softly, her eyes feeling teary again, although she did her best to hide her unhappiness.
"Hey," Tidus said softly, "There is such thing. I know there is. I think I did feel it, once. A long, long time ago."
A misty layer was now going across Yuna's eyes. She didn't know why, but the tone of Tidus' soft words were bothering her.
"When my mother died, I guess I just forgot there was such a thing as love," Tidus said, "'Cause I sure don't feel it toward my old man."
"That's terrible," Yuna said softly, trying without too much luck to hold her tears back, "I...Love...My..." She couldn't finish it. She had always said she loved her father, she had always followed his orders, done what he had told her to do, tried to love him.
She didn't see him enough. She didn't spend time with him. She didn't truly love him. She told Tidus that there was no such thing as love as an excuse. An excuse to save her from falling in love. But now...Maybe she truly didn't believe in it.
"I don't believe in love!" she finally cried, not caring any longer if tears flowed freely from her eyes.
Tidus turned and watched her for some time, his usually cool eyes now eyeing her with care.
"I do." Tidus said those two words slowly and softly, "And I know you do too."
Yuna looked up at Tidus, biting her lip. What was she supposed to say now? She didn't think she could really play dumb for much longer. So it had been an excuse. She didn't want to admit that she believed in love, but now that she truly thought about it, for the first time in her life, she was in love.
She was in love with the incredibly snotty and cocky Blitzball player of the Bevelle Brutes, the one who had ruined her senior year for her, the one who had caused her so much trouble and hatred.
Finally just allowing the tears to flow, Yuna cupped her hands over her face, not really knowing what else to do.
She felt him move closer to her, but she didn't truly care. She could feel his eyes upon her, but again, she didn't really care.
His hands were now on her waist, and she could feel herself be pressed against his chest, but she just kept her hands covering her eyes, as if afraid to look at him. He rocked her side-to-side softly.
"Please don't...I don't want to fall any more in love with you..." Flashes of such thoughts went across her head gently, but she couldn't open her mouth to actually speak such words.
"Yuna?" Tidus' voice said.
Yuna finally dropped her hands to her sides and looked up at him.
Closing his eyes, he leaned in until his lips met hers, which Yuna, to her own surprise, greeted, almost anxiously.
"No!" Yuna's mind screamed, "We can't do this...I can't kiss you..."
Without even being able to think, Yuna allowed Tidus' tongue access to her mouth, even though more than anything she wanted to stop and hit him, or just run away, or something.
She didn't though, and Tidus deepened his kiss, flushing all of her thoughts of running out of her head.
Everything about the moment seemed so right. It felt as if the moment was meant to happen, as if it was destined to happen.
Everything was happening so fast. Yuna couldn't think any longer, and she felt her body start to feel numb, as if she wasn't even controlling her motions.
Her arms wrapped themselves around his neck, as she pulled herself closer to him, all while his strong arms held her around the waist.
After what seemed like a lifetime or two, their lips finally parted, and Tidus blushed a deep red.
"Uh, don't know where that came from," he said quickly, turning away from her.
"You don't have to play dumb any longer," Yuna said, leaning her elbows on the railing of the balcony and resting her head in her hands.
"What do you mean?" Tidus asked, and was staring at her with the strangest lustful look Yuna had ever seen.
Yuna looked away from him. "I do believe in love."
She didn't see him, but she knew he smiled. Then, he turned and faced her, and wrapped his arms around her waist again.
"Me too," he whispered into her hair.
Yuna smiled at him, and closed her eyes, as he pulled her in for yet another kiss.
This kiss would have been just as perfect as the last one, if something hadn't interrupted it.
"Yunie! You double-crossing meanie!"
The two separated, and turned to see an incredibly angry looking Rikku, with none other than Lord Braska at her side.