Short chapter, no doubt! Oh well, it's something right? I can't say I'm perfectly okay with this one either. Also, sorry it took me so long to update! Tennis has been crazy with sections and everything, and I've just had trouble coming up with ideas for this fic., or any other one for that matter! Anyway, I'm terribly sorry, but tennis will be over for sure in two weeks, and then I should have more time! Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 12: As Long As I'm With You

She may as well literally watch the leaves turn colors. She had nothing better to do.

Sighing, Yuna returned to her homework, as she'd been staring out the window for the last half hour. It had been a month since the last time she had been with Tidus, that night of her ballet practice, the night her father had returned from Bevelle...

Yuna bit her lip, and stared out the window again, recalling that night. Braska was red he was so angry, and Yuna had whispered, "Maybe it'd be best if I just got out and you left."

Tidus had nodded, and quickly Yuna got out, and Tidus said, "Give me a call, 'kay?"

With a shaky nod, Yuna stood up and watched as Tidus disappeared, finding herself wishing that she hadn't told him to leave.

Seymour and Braska both faced Yuna, Braska wearing a frown, while Seymour wore a satisfied smile.

"That's the young man," Seymour said, pointing towards Tidus' car that was pulling out of sight, "He spent the night here."

"That's not true!" Yuna said, although it was. She looked up at the sky and bit her lip, although she knew that wouldn't look convincing. She'd never told a lie in her life.

"He took her to that party!" Seymour basically demanded at Braska.

"What party?" Yuna asked, shrugging.

Braska didn't say anything. He just stared at his daughter, the look in his eyes piercing through her. Never had she seen him look so angry.

Then, Braska just shook his head, and said, "Yuna, I forbid you to be with that young man ever again. I know who he is. He's that Blitzball player. He's nothing but bad news. Believe me, I know."

"You do not!" Yuna said, "You've never met him!"

"It doesn't matter," Braska just said through gritted teeth, all while Seymour watched, smiling, apparently enjoying watching the father and daughter argue, "What I say is what you will do."

"But you don't even know!" Yuna just said loudly, and stomped off toward the house.

"Get back here right now Young Lady!" Braska roared at her, but she just continued toward the house.

"If I may, Sir," Seymour just said, and this was the last thing Yuna heard before entering the house, "I would say you shouldn't argue in the open like this. It could hurt your political record."

Tears welled in Yuna's eyes as she recalled that night, and the conversation she'd had with Tidus the moment she'd locked herself in her room. She had flung herself on her bed, grabbing her phone and dialing Tidus' number quickly.

"You're not going to believe this!" she had shouted into the phone through tears, "But my dad has told me that I can't see you anymore!"

Tidus had laughed, which surprised Yuna, and said, "Do you always do exactly what he tells you to do?"

"Yes! He forbade me to see you!"

"Come on Yuna, don't be wimp!" came Tidus' reply, and he laughed, seemingly mocking her, "Do you think I do everything my father tells me to do? If my father forbids me from something, I'll do it!"

"But that's you!" Yuna had whined, although she already felt better.

"Look," Tidus had said, "Give your old man some time to cool down. Besides, I got a call from my coach. There's a huge series of tournaments held in Luca for the rest of September. So, I'll be gone. Just go about your life without me, and by then, maybe your old man'll be through all of this, okay?"

"Okay," Yuna said softly, "Will you be back by October?"

"Sure thing!" Tidus had said, "With the first-place trophy, I might add."

Yuna smiled, although at the same time she was wondering how he could be so happy. She wouldn't be able to see him for nearly an entire month!

"I gotta go, I'll see you then, 'kay? No worries!" Tidus had hung up then before she even had a chance to say 'goodbye,' and with a click, Yuna had thrown down her phone, and had buried her head into her pillow, crying.

Now, Yuna smiled to herself, recalling the date. It was October first. Tidus would be back later that night. Leaning back in her chair, wondering how she could possibly focus on her homework when in just a matter of minutes, Tidus would return, and should call her, and then she could sneak out and see him again...

Her father hadn't cooled down. He was always giving Yuna suspicious glances here and there, asking her if she planned on attending this with Seymour, or that with Seymour. The poor girl couldn't even attend a school dance without her father requesting that she go along with Seymour.

Yuna crept down the stairs, deciding that she just couldn't focus on her homework any longer.

"Yuna?" her father's voice.

Yuna froze.

"Yes?" she said, right from where she was. Her father was in the living room, reading. He normally was. There was no way she'd be able to sneak out.

"What are you doing?"

"I was just going to..." Yuna was lost. Even she didn't know what it was she was going to do for now. Tidus hadn't called, so obviously he wasn't back, and she wasn't able to drive herself anywhere...

Yuna sighed, not knowing at all what it was she was going to do. Her phone rang then, from her purse, which was slung over her handbag, which caused Yuna to give a little jump, first out of her nervousness, and then out of excitement. As she flipped the lid open, her heart leapt as she recognized the number as Tidus'. Still, it wasn't very likely that she could talk to him right where she was, and her father would get suspicious if she left to take the call.

"Hello?" Yuna answered, and then said quickly, "Hey, can you call me back in just a sec., I've got to ask my father something."

She got a perplexed "huh?" out of Tidus, and smiled upon hearing his voice and just said, "Just call me back soon. Bye!"

She hung up before he could get the chance to say anything, and prayed he knew what it was she meant.

"Who was that?" her father's voice entered the room.

"Seymour," Yuna said quickly, "He was wondering if I would like to attend a...a school...uh...game...thing...tonight," Yuna said quickly. It was the weekend, after all.

"Let me talk to him," Braska's reply came.

Yuna entered the living room, being that she was growing tired of talking through the walls to her father, and with a deep breath, said quickly, "He's calling me back. He's not sure if he'll be able to give me a ride. Actually, I'll call him back right now."

Hoping Tidus hadn't wanted to call her back immediately, Yuna pulled out her phone, and quickly dialed Seymour's number.

"Hi Seymour!" she greeted him a cheery voice, "Are we going to go to the school Blitzball game tonight?"

Seymour was silent, and perplexed, and Yuna could just hear him breathing before he finally said, "Huh?"

"You know, let's go to the game together, like you were saying earlier!" Yuna said, smiling at her father, who was looking at her over his reading glasses.

"Oh...okay," Seymour finally said, and seemed more alert, "Sure. I'll be right over to pick you up! We can go over to my place later, I'm throwing a huge party!"

"Oh...sure," Yuna said, "But first, can you talk to my father?"

Braska looked shocked, as if he really hadn't expected that his daughter was really talking to Seymour.

"Sure...," Seymour just said, and Yuna handed her father the phone.

"I'm going to go get ready," she said quickly, smiling a phony smile, and ran up to her room as fast as she could, grabbing her cordless phone that had been neglected since she had received her cell phone. As quickly as she possibly could, she dialed Tidus' number.

"Hello?" came a sleepy sounding Tidus.

"Hi!" Yuna chirped, "It's me!"

"Hey!" Tidus greeted her, his bored tone suddenly chirping also.

"Sorry about before, my father was right there," Yuna said quickly.

"That's okay," Tidus said.

"I'm in a huge fix right now," Yuna then said, "Can you come pick me up down the street like right now? And be here in like two seconds?"

"Uh...I guess I can try..." Tidus just said, "I'll see you then!"

Tidus hung up, and Yuna did the same, running outside onto her balcony. She found herself glad that she'd taken the second story for her bedroom and not the third, as she carefully crawled onto the roof, and then into a tree that was nearby and then to the ground. It was something she'd done a year ago when she first found out that Rikku was her cousin. The two were so desperate to hang out together, that Yuna would have to sneak out every now and then. Still, something about this time felt so much more wrong than last time.

Yuna ran down the road, hoping Tidus knew where to pick her up at. She figured she looked like a strange sight, this girl of prestige running wildly down the road as if something were chasing her.

She didn't care. The point was, in just a few seconds, maybe a minute, she's see Tidus. Up until that moment, Yuna had really considered her relationship with Tidus as more of a friend kind of relationship. But now, she was so eager to see him, for reasons unknown to herself. She had missed him so, and just felt her heart lighten at the mere mention of him.

Sighing, her run turned into a walk, and she thoughtfully walked toward the main road, hoping for Tidus to arrive at any given time.

A nice yellow convertible that Yuna hadn't seen yet pulled up, a smiling Tidus from the driving wheel.

"Nice car!" Yuna greeted him, climbing in quickly, "Let's just go though, 'cause soon my father will realize I'm gone.

Tidus just nodded, and sped off.

"Nice day, huh?" Tidus asked, smiling over at Yuna.

"Yeah," Yuna agreed, "So, how was your tournament? Tell me everything about it!"

"Okay," Tidus said, "We got second, those stupid Goers beat us by one point. Our goalie was probably drunk or somethin', who knows...anyway though, guess what?" He paused, as Yuna shrugged, "We're leaving for another tournament in Luca in a week."

"Oh..." Yuna said, looking at her lap, "Another one?"

"Yeah," Tidus said, his voice sounding cheerful, "It's a week long, and I was wondering if you wanted to come along!"

"But what about school?" Yuna said without thinking. She wanted desperately to go. She'd only been to Luca a few times, and it happened to be one of her favorite places. Not only that, but she could spend the entire week with Tidus...

"Don't you guys get two days off for that Yunalesca Day thing? And then you'll only miss three days of school. Nothing terrible, right?"

"I guess not," Yuna said then, realizing that truly, school wasn't the thing keeping her back from going along with Tidus.

"All you gotta do is come along!" Tidus said, as if it was the easiest thing to do.

"My father would never allow it," Yuna just said, still looking into her lap.

"Don't tell him," Tidus just said with a shrug.

"I couldn't do that!" Yuna said, jumping at the idea, "He would think something happened to me! And if I did tell him where I was going–."

"Lie," Tidus said simply, "Tell him you're going somewhere for a week for a school related thing, or something. Besides that, isn't your old man going to that big convention that's being held in Macalania? He'll be gone anyway! Just ditch your caretaker dude, and come with me!" He gave Yuna a pleading look, which caused her to smile.

"Let me think on it," Yuna finally just said, "My father's going to be mad at me as it is."

"Just lie," Tidus said then, "So, where to?"

"I don't know," Yuna just said, noticing that the sun was beginning to go down, "I don't care, as long as I'm with you..." She wrapped her arms around his arm, leaning her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes, and said, "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Tidus said softly, leaning his head on hers as they drove quickly into the city...