I kind of liked this chapter, but it was really, really long! Anyway, I hope it kind of sums some things up! Enjoy! (By the way, I've got most of the plot figured out, and I think you'll like it!)
Chapter 10: Promises
"Why isn't he telling me everything?"
Yuna's eyes shot open, and she realized she'd just awoken from one of the strangest dreams she'd had in her life. "Why isn't he telling me everything?" Those words repeated themselves over and over in Yuna' mind, as she looked up at the ceiling, and then closed her eyes.
She couldn't remember her dream, but she knew it was odd. Especially when those words continued to repeat themselves over and over. There was no need for her to remember the dream to understand its meaning, however. Yuna knew exactly what it was about.
"Tidus isn't telling me everything he knows," Yuna said, reopening her eyes again, "He's hiding something from me, I just know it."
At that second, Yuna's phone rang from her dresser, and she quickly picked it up, smiling as she recognized the number as Tidus'.
"Hello?" she said quickly into the phone.
"Hey!" Tidus' voice came back, greeting her.
"You're actually up?" Yuna said skeptically, "It's eight in the morning!"
"I've been up since five, you?" Tidus said boastfully, and Yuna could just picture a little smirk on his mouth.
"Why?" Yuna said, plopping on her bed, "It's Saturday..."
"I know. I had early Blitz camp. It just got over with though. But now I have no Blitz for an entire month!"
"That's good, what are you going to do to pass time?" Yuna said, balancing the phone between her shoulder and her ear as she sorted through her closet, trying to find something to wear for the day.
"Don't know," Tidus said, "whatever I feel like doing."
"Sounds nice," Yuna said, "At least you don't have to pass your time at school..."
Tidus was silent for a while, before he said, "You know...I wish I could go to school..."
"Well, honestly, you're not missing much," Yuna just said simply, "It would be your senior year too. In other words, there's not much going on."
"Yeah, but what about like the prom and stuff?" Tidus said, "I've always wanted to go to one of those fancy smancy dances..."
Yuna nearly laughed, but didn't at the serious tone in Tidus' voice.
"Hm...Fancy and you don't seem to go together," Yuna just said instead.
"I know," Tidus just said, and then lightened the subject by saying, "So, what are you up to?"
"Nothing really," Yuna said, and then remembered what she'd been thinking of before Tidus had called. Reminding herself of this, Yuna said, "Uh...Tidus? Do you remember last night, when you dropped me off? You...Kind of said some different things...And...Well, I want to know more...I know there's more to it than you told me..."
Tidus was silent again, and then he said, "You're right Yuna. There is more to it than I told you..." He was silent again for some time, before he finally said, "Why don't you...Hm..."
"Can you just tell me?" Yuna said, almost pleadingly, "I...Think I deserve to know."
"Right," Tidus said, surprising Yuna. She figured she'd have to beg him for answers.
"Well..." Yuna said, smiling to herself, deciding she knew how to get Tidus interested in telling her, said, "I'm home alone all day, so if you want to come over..."
She was surprised when she heard Tidus interrupt her, as he said, "What? You're home all by yourself?" in almost a shocked voice.
"Yeah...I am," Yuna just said, wondering what the shock was for.
"Damn...I mean...Uh...Look, Yuna...I know of a party tonight...It's one my Blitz buddies are holding...Why don't we go there? We can talk there, and no one will hear us...And...It'll be most private there..."
"Private? At a party? But no one's here–."
"Yuna, believe me, the party will be the best place. 'Kay?"
"Uh...Okay..." Yuna just said, "What time?"
"It's at six," Tidus said, "'Till whenever...I'll pick you up at five..."
"Okay," Yuna just said with a shrug, wondering why Tidus had gone from not wanting anybody seeing them together to not being alone with her in her own house.
"Tidus," Yuna said then quickly, "We're not going to this party to regain any of your "lost" or "stolen" property, are we?"
"You mean like long ago..." Tidus just trailed, "Nah, I haven't lost anything lately..."
"Good," Yuna said, "'Cause you sure were fast at bringing up the party..."
"It's just 'cause I promised I'd go, that's all," Tidus said quickly, "And we can talk there, honestly we can. And I promise I'll clear some things up, 'kay?"
"Okay," Yuna just said.
"Well then, I'll see you at five, 'kay?" Tidus said.
"Right," Yuna just said.
"Bye!" Tidus said, and before Yuna could even reply, he hung up.
"I swear," Yuna said to herself, as she put her phone back on her dresser, "Tidus gets stranger and stranger every day..." She smiled though, as she pulled out the bracelet that he had bought her months ago, "But I don't care."
She smiled to herself, knowing that she was undeniably glad to be back with Tidus.
"You look like you're on your way to the library," Tidus said simply, as Yuna climbed into his car.
"Thanks," Yuna said sarcastically, rolling her eyes, but smiling anyway, "Normal guys would just compliment their girlfriends..."
"We're not going to a birthday party," was all Tidus said, as he put his car into gear and rolled quickly down Yuna's driveway, and sped down the road, obviously not caring how icy the streets were.
"Where are we going exactly?" Yuna asked, changing the subject from the sweater and knee-length skirt she was wearing to the location of the party.
"To a friend's house," Tidus said, and Yuna noted that his blue eyes were darting nervously from the street ahead of them to the rearview mirror, then to the side-mirror, back to the road, then to the rearview mirror, and so on.
"Tidus, are you okay?" Yuna said, "You seem anxious..."
"Uh...Yeah, it's just that..." Tidus gave a fake smile, that was so obviously fake that it made Yuna begin to worry. Just what was on Tidus' mind?
"Again, where are we going?" Yuna said.
"Remember that jerk on my team? His house."
"Uh, why?"
"'Cause, he's having a party...And...Uh...I don't know, I thought it'd be nice to go..."
"We are going to talk though, right?" Yuna said.
"Definitely," Tidus just said quickly, "We'll head upstairs and talk." He stole a quick look at Yuna, and said, "I promise. I'll tell you everything."
Yuna could only stare at Tidus almost blankly, before she finally was able to lean back in her seat, and watch out the window.
"Wow, this place is packed," Yuna heard Tidus mumble, as he pulled around some cars skillfully, without even slipping on a large patch of ice beneath the car.
Yuna looked out the window to notice they had arrived at a fairly large house, and there were cars everywhere.
"Why here?" Yuna said, looking over at Tidus, "How come you wanted to talk here?"
Tidus smiled, and gave a little laugh, and said, "I don't know, I just thought it'd be nice to get out, know what I mean? This place just came to my mind first. 'Sides, I promised I'd make an appearance."
"So many promises..." Yuna thought, "He promises me this, he promises them that..."
"You coming?" Tidus said, interrupting Yuna's thoughts.
"Yeah, sorry," Yuna just said, throwing on a smile, although a strange feeling in her stomach came, and wouldn't go away.
"It's Tidus I'm with," Yuna told herself, "There's nothing bad that's going to happen. I can trust Tidus...Wait a minute...Just a few days ago I couldn't trust him at all..."
Yuna's thoughts stopped as Tidus opened the door and led her inside, only to welcomed
by a loud blast of music, and a strong smell of cigarette smoke, mixed with alcohol.
"Gross," Yuna said, wrinkling her nose, as she looked around at the many people at the house party, all of them ages eighteen to thirty. It definitely didn't seem like the parties she was accustomed to, and she'd been to some crazy ones...
"Yeah," Tidus just said, as he took her hand, "Come on, let's go upstairs..."
"Hey Tidus!" a voice said, causing Tidus to drop Yuna's hand and turn around, "'Sup?"
"Not much, man," Tidus just said, and Yuna looked behind her to see some guy with curly brown hair with his arm around the waist of girl with blonde hair. The girl would have been pretty, if makeup didn't cover her entire face so thickly.
"I didn't think you were comin'," the guy said, giving Tidus a nod, "Wanna beer?"
"No," Tidus just said, wrinkling his own nose, "I really don't need a hangover tomorrow."
"Me neither," the guy said, "But, you know...It's worth it every now and then."
Yuna looked up at Tidus, and then into the room where all the people were.
"They all look so slimy and gross," Yuna thought to herself, "Not exactly the company I'd like to hang out with..."
"Yeah, I've gotta go," Tidus just said, breaking Yuna's thoughts, "I've got something to attend to..."
"Yeah, know what you mean, man," the guy said, looking down at Yuna, "See ya."
"See ya," Tidus just said, and then quickly grabbed Yuna's hand again, and practically dragged her up the stairs.
The stairs led to a living room type area, which seemed to be the 'make-out' room, being that there were some people here and there, which caused Yuna to scrunch her nose again.
"Come on," Tidus just said, with an annoyed tone, as he dragged Yuna through that room and to another room, which turned out to be a bedroom. He locked the door, and sighed.
"Sorry I had to bring you here," he finally said, as he took a seat on the bed, "After all, the cops'll 'pry be here soon enough...They usually show..."
"Are all of those people Blitzers?" Yuna asked, wrapping her arms around her shoulders, as she realized it was somewhat chilly in the upstairs area.
"Yep, nice folks, huh?" Tidus said sarcastically, "But it's the crowd I've been around my entire life...Imagine me, a little sixteen-year-old hanging out with them..."
"I'm surprised you turned out okay," Yuna said, shaking her head, "They're kind of...rough..."
"Yep," Tidus said, "and...I'm not so sure sometimes that I did turn out okay..."
"Why not?" Yuna said, "At least you're not down there, drinking as much beer as you can, with some slimy girl hanging all over you..."
Tidus gave a little laugh, and said, "At least not tonight..."
"But you were never like that, were you?" Yuna asked, "I mean, they're all so..." Yuna shuddered, "...So...Disgusting..."
"Try me as a fifteen-year-old," Tidus just said, "I was the biggest egotistic guy out there. I was the only freshman in all of Bevelle history to make the varsity Blitz team, and hung out with all the seniors. They'd be like, "Tidus, get drunk", and I'd be like, "Okay."'
Yuna swallowed, "Yeah, but...that was a long time ago..."
Tidus gave a little smile, and said, "When I quit school, and joined the pro team, I became even more egotistic, and realized I was the best one out there. So," Tidus shrugged, "I realized I didn't have to be somebody. I didn't have to drink to be cool...Or...do anything else..."
Yuna swallowed again, and took a seat softly next to Tidus, before saying, "Tidus, tell me everything. About you, about Nooj, and about me...Just like you promised..."
Tidus leaned back on his hands and stared at the ceiling for a while, before finally saying, "Okay...I'll tell you..."
"I was born in Zanarkand, as you probably assumed. My old man was the star player of the Zanarkand Abes, the best team out there, even today. My mom just basically stayed home and took care of me, and the house, and my old man, I guess. I was enrolled in Blitz camps and school from the age of three. I'd been in the water for as long as I can remember. That's how I spent all my time... My dad thought it would be awfully embarrassing if his son couldn't even Blitz. But my dad never taught me Blitz. He refused. It was almost like he was jealous of me, or something... 'Cause even though I was young, I was good. Talent, I guess...
"My old man was friends with a guy named Auron. Auron was this fallen monk who didn't care much for Yevon after he fell. He's the one that introduced my old man to the Youth League. I guess my old man believed in their stuff, and agreed to do what he could to help overthrow Yevon." Tidus stopped and sighed, and looked at Yuna, and gave her a small smile, before continuing.
"Anyway, when I was about five or six, my old man announced we had to go to Bevelle to visit some friends. But really, my old man had to go to a Youth League convention. At the convention, he learned that he was to assassin the new Maester of Spira, Lord Braska. But see, my old man was friends with Lord Braska. They'd gone to school together years and years ago. So, my old man didn't do it. He told the leader of the Youth League that there was no way he was going to kill Lord Braska. The day he was supposed to kill your old man was the day my mom took me to meet you. See, there was still an attempt at your father's life, but it wasn't by my old man. It was by someone else. When we were at the park, those guys dressed in black that came to the park told your mom that there had been an attempt at your father's life. That's why you and she left. My father came then, and wisped us away back to Zanarkand, but became extremely distant. He'd always been distant from me, but now he was even to my mother. Later, we got word that Auron had died. That killed my old man. Auron and he had been such good friends... Then, when I was seven, my old man was away at a Blitz tournament, and that's when my mom died.
"My dad came home, and beat the living hell out of me. He'd never hit me before, but he did then. I still have scars... Then, we came here, to Bevelle. And my father did everything he could to serve the Youth League...And...he signed me up for it. At first, I liked it. In the summer, instead of going to Blitz camp, I'd go to Youth League camp and learn why the Maesters of Yevon were evil and so forth. They practically brain-washed us so that we'd want to overthrow people like your dad."
"What...Stopped the brainwashing for you?" Yuna said, interrupting Tidus.
Tidus looked at Yuna, and just smiled and said, "I'm getting there. Anyway, I had little missions, like to be friends with some influential people's children. At the age of ten, I was stealing important documents from my "friends'" houses. They were pretty minor. Nothing serious. Then, I got into highschool, and kind of quit the Youth League stuff to concentrate on my Blitz. After all, the leaders of the Youth League decided it would be best for me to be pretty famous...For jobs like dating you and Dona." Tidus stopped and threw a smile at Yuna, "Besides, I can't help it that I'm so damn good looking!
"Anyway, though, in highschool I concentrated on Blitz, and that's when I met my first serious girlfriend..." Tidus kind of looked at Yuna, as if to study her expression, before continuing, "Her name was Lenne...And...she was kind of like you in kind of a lot of ways...Anyway though, she's the one that kind of brought me away from the Youth League ways..." Tidus swallowed, and was silent for a while, before finally continuing.
"And for the longest time, I stayed in school and was a well-behaved boy, just for her. Lenne meant literally everything to me...But then...One day, right after I turned seventeen, Lenne was...killed..."
"I'm sorry," Yuna said quickly. Yuna found that really she hadn't been listening the hardest, because suddenly she had been thinking about this Lenne girl. "Is he just replacing me as Lenne?" she had been thinking, only to be snapped back to life when Tidus told her that Lenne had been killed.
"So, ever since," Tidus then said, and, much to Yuna's shock, pulled out a small, silver pistol, "I've carried this around."
"What? Why?" Yuna said.
"'Cause, I was there when Lenne was killed," Tidus said, and his face suddenly wrinkled, as if he was going to cry. He bit his lip and swallowed, and quickly looked away from Yuna, as if afraid of her seeing him cry.
"I was there," he simply said, "I watched the whole thing! I watched them shoot her. And I couldn't do anything. But dammit Yuna, I'm not going to let that ever happen again. Ever."
Yuna was suddenly breathing heavy, as she wondered if her boyfriend was some sort of psychopath.
"Your father," Tidus then said, "Killed my mother, and my girlfriend..."
"Tidus," Yuna said, "My father did no such thing."
"It was all his fault. My father couldn't kill him, so Nooj's dad killed my mom as punishment. You see, I stopped doing what Nooj asked, and Lenne got killed. If I stop, the same's going to happen to you! Don't you get it? People can't know we're together. But if they do, I'll be ready." Tidus slowly put his pistol away, and then looked at Yuna with a sigh, "You probably think I'm crazy now, don't you?"
"Actually," Yuna just said, "I don't know what to think."
Tidus stood up, and looked at his watch, "It's already pretty late. I think everything will fit together once I take you home."
"What do you mean?" Yuna just said.
"I mean, it'll all make sense when I take you home. Just believe me," Tidus looked at the door, and then quickly said, "Yuna, just promise me one thing."
"What?" Yuna said, as she stood up and followed Tidus out the door.
"What I'm doing is for your own good. I love you."
Yuna could only smile as he told her that, because he didn't really say it an awful lot, and she'd honestly begun to wonder.
"And you have to promise me," Tidus continued, "That no matter what happens, you won't hold me accountable. Do you promise?"
"Well..." Yuna just said, as she felt confused.
"Please Yuna, you have to promise me," Tidus just said quickly, as they walked down the stairs.
"Fine, I promise," Yuna said.
"Good," Tidus said quickly, and opened the door, and the two walked outside.
The ride to Yuna's house was very silent and somewhat uncomfortable, but Yuna could tell Tidus didn't feel like talking, and to be honest, she didn't either.
"Yuna," Tidus said, as they turned into Yuna's rode, "Don't get out of the car 'till I tell you, 'kay? You'll see why."
"What do you me—." Yuna trailed, as her eyes grew wide. At her house, were at least five Yevonite cars, all of them with their lights flashing. There was "crime scene" tape spread everywhere.
"What's going on!" Yuna cried, and started to open the door as Tidus stopped at her driveway.
"No, wait," Tidus said, grabbing Yuna's arm, "I'll explain everything quickly. I'll stay as long as I can, 'till someone else gets here, 'kay? Knowing Nooj, those aren't even real Yevonites..."
"What do you mean?" Yuna said, panic apparent in her voice.
"Yuna, the reason we went to that party is because tonight, Nooj planned a kidnap attempt. Yuna, tonight, you were supposed to be kidnapped."