Author's Note: YEA! I finally updated :D I'm happy! I just updated on my other story, "Can't Stand You", a few days ago and I now I'm updating this story! I'm sooo happy all u guys reviewed… THANKIES:D

Master Thief Heehee, cute eh? Lolz…

Kingleby Yup, thanks 4 reviewing! Gippal's like that, ain't he?

YuffieKisaragi Yea, the smile gave her away, didn't it?

ShannonGASP…u do? Lolz, well, here's Chapter 3!

Milkie Got that right! Doesn't seem like it, eh?

Sugacoated-Cherries Yea, it seems like it, eh? There's more mystery to it than JUST that!

Red eyed stranger . . . . . THANKIES! That was SOOO the nicest anyone could EVA had said to me :D I'm so happy…lolz it doesn't take a lot to make me happi, eh?

Back of Beyond Nope, Selina isn't dressed up as Rikku and taken her place. They're both different people…thanks 4 reviewing neways!

Xtreme Nuisance I read the book Stargirl too…but the Stargirl was a GOOD girl, wasn't she? Dis fic is for complicated than you think! ;D

Special Thanks 2: skatterkat---

Heehee the rose bit was kinda sweet, wasn't it? I thought it made Rikku look more like a good girl…About Selina, I'm sorry but you'll be seeing her sooner than you think and she's…uh-oh, betta not let the truth out… :P

Thanks ALLL for reviewing, I'm sorry if I missed you, but ya noe I love u guys…So here's Chapter 3:

Disclaimer: Yada yada I DON"T own Final Fantasy X-2, k? Square Enix made it and lets just let it stay that way…

"----------" - People talking

))----------(( - People's Thoughts

A/N: ---------- - My words

This is a modern fanfic of school life...MODERN, okie? No Temples, no nothin' like that...Yah it's different but that the point.

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Believe it or Not- Chapter 3: No one there?

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It was another day…a happy, fun, exhilarating day!...At Tidus' house. The situation involved a begging friend nearly tearing on a particularly tanned, cute blond hair guy's pants.

"You sick ass, absolutely not!"

"Oh come on!"

"No!"

"But Musical Video #129 is my VERY favorite one—please see it with me?"

Gippal twisted his face in disgust. "Tidus. You're the nastiest person I've ever had the misfortune to meet. Anyways, aren't you obsessing a little bit too much over Yuna?"

Tidus immediately brightened up at the name 'Yuna'.

"Of course not…" he put his hands together and sighed dreamily.

Gippal just looked at him. What kind of weirdo was he?

Then finally, Gippal said, "Sheesh. As much as I like Yuna ---"he was cut short by Tidus grabbing his shirt. "YOU LIKE YUNA?"

……What an overprotective guy………………

"NO NO, I DON'T!"

Tidus calmed down instantly.

"As I was saying," continued Gippal. "As much as I like Yuna---" Tidus threw him a death glare. Nevertheless, Gippal continued. "Look. DO you really have to watch Yuna's Music Videos twenty-four seven? Doesn't it ever embarrass you to do that?"

Tidus gave him a speculative look.

He thought about this for a while, then his blue eyes narrowed quickly. "Ohhh, I see. If it's your reputation you're worried about, don't worry." He paused and whispered… "What happens in my house stays in my house."

Gippal muttered under his breath something that sounded somewhat like, "Idiot."

"Gippal… Thanks man, for displaying you great kindness and politeness as a guest to my house." This remark came from in a very sarcastic way from Tidus.

"Tidus…," began Gippal, looking directly at Tidus in the eyes. "I am going to go hang myself."

Tidus' eyes widened and grabbed Gippal's hand, making him wince from his sudden, intimate movement. "Whoa! DUDE, are you feeling moody or something! Honestly, man, you should like…'Come back down to earth, oh yeah baby, oh yeahh!'" He began to tune out and sing the last part of his statement.

Gippal grabbed his hand back protectively, his face twisting with disgust. "What ARE you singing?"

"It's the song from Music Video #129 I told you to watch!" Tidus replied angrily, then his face relaxed, as if remembering something. He began to sing again.

"Come back down to earth, oh yeah baby, down down to earth! And…" His voice was drained out by Gippal hurriedly grabbing his mahogany jacket, rushing for the door. Sure, Tidus was fun and hilarious at times, but this was too much for him. Especially when he had a lot of things of his mind, such as…Rikku. He didn't want to think about her now though.

"I'm leaving" he muttered loudly as he unlocked the door to Tidus' room.

"Oh, but come back quick, dear," Tidus said, batting his eyelashes and blowing Gippal a sticky kiss.

Okay…do you smell gayness in the air?

"You. Are. FRICKEN FREAKIN' ME OUT!" yelled Gippal as he slammed the door behind him.

"Hey!" Tidus called after him, "I was just joking!"

- - - - - - - - - -

The sudden change of chilly air caught him dead, as a breeze blew by him. He clung on to his JCY House jacket tightly, glancing around.

'The hell he was supposed to go?

He considered going back to Tidus' house again…but he'd probably stuff him with posters of Yuna again, and singing that ridiculous song…'come back down to earth, oh yeah, oh yeah—' Damn! It was stuck in his head now.

Gippal walked further along the sidewalk, coming to a noisy house filled with assorted lights and silhouettes of dancing figures. Oh yeah, there was a birthday bash at Jhino's house and every 'hot' girl was invited, as long as all the girls came in their swimsuits to 'cheer him on'. What an idiot, everybody knew that Jhino was a sick pervert who was too spoiled to learn any manners.

But what else was he to do?

Watch Yuna's Music Video #129 with Tidus for the thousandth time?

Well…there was that option of going home. His nice, rich, expensive home.

Where he was spoiled rotten. But that doesn't matter.

And lay on the leather couch to watch his big plasma television.

And walk on his marble floors instead of a dirty cement sidewalk…

And—sleep on his feathery, soothing bed.

But then…Rikku was at his house too.

Ugh, he hated her.

He was agitated just thinking about her.

But dammit, he really wanted to go home.

"Screw it, what am I waiting for?" Gippal thought. He was young and rich and he'll do whatever the hell wanted. He wasn't going to let Rikku stop him. No way.

So he was back again at Tidus's house again, back in his room… grabbing his Ralph Lauren PJs, his toothbrush and VaMere sleeping bag, ignoring Tidus's taunts: "Aw…poor Gippal misses his own little bed and teddy bear" and headed out the door.

Home sweet home.

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)) What a fantastic view! I never even got to see nature such as this at the HQ… (( Rikku thought silently, as she stretched her gaze towards the forest on the end of their gorgeous Beverly Hills-equivalent neighborhood.

She had climbed up to the top of the Gippal's lovely, maple tree. It was so intoxicating up there that her heart tied up with her throat. She didn't know why, maybe it was the wind blowing her hair, or the clouds that hung so low or the smell of fresh fallen leaves. Whatever it was, it made her feel so … alive.

And it didn't even matter that her knee was hurting from crouching on the branch so much. Nope, that was such a tiny problem right now. Anyways, she was trained to do this ---- even though she haven't had much practice.

Abruptly, she caught sight of Gippal walking towards the house with his shoulders shivering. Her heart speed up with excitement. He was coming home! He wasn't avoiding her anymore! YES! Everything seemed perfect.

As much as she hated leaving the tree, she knew she had to get down. She took a step down to the subsequent branch.

CRACK

"Uh-oh," Rikku whispered, looking down at the broken branch that fell to the ground.

Now what was she going to do? That was THE branch, the main, most supportive one----the one that would lead her to the third branch, and then the fourth branch and then the fifth and then she'd get to the ground.

But now…

Um.

"GIPPAL!" she shouted, watching him open up the golden gate, and hoping he'd hear her. "GIPPAL!" she never had been so desperate.

He turned to the tree and looked up. "What on earth……?"

"I need your help," Rikku said, hopelessly. "I—I can't get down."

Gippal just stared at her.

)) Oh no. (( thought Gippal.

"What are you waiting for?" Rikku asked. "Do something!" She felt her self control slipping away from her. Man, if she didn't live with him she would have literally KILLED him.

He continued staring at her. Then, a small smirk crept up his lips. "Where's Seikawa?"

"It's poker night, so he went to Mister Buchet's house to play cards," Rikku said, weakly. "He won't be back any time soon so----"

"I see," Gippal's smirk grew wider as he spotted the broken branch lying on the grass. "What a pity, I always loved that branch."

"Don't you have a ladder? ANYTHING?" Rikku was desperate and Gippal loved every moment of it.

"I have to go," he said, grinning at her. "Have fun making out with the tree," He turned to go back to his mansion.

"Gippal—don't!" Rikku yelled. "Wait---you can't leave me out here—I want to come down--- GIPPAL! OH, F--" she paused, and then yelled again. "GIPPPPAAAAL!"

Gippal threw her an irresistible smile and entered the house.

He couldn't believe his luck.

How perfect was this? He was back home, happy and comfortable, without that weird Rikku to bother him.

It was like a dream come true.

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"All I do is what he tells me to do," said Cypher from the huge, flat-screen television sitting in the living room. "If I had to choose between that and the Matrix, I'd choose the Matrix."
"The Matrix isn't real," Trinity said.

Gippal rubbed his eyes. He had fallen asleep since the movie began. It wasn't his fault, really. The Flanex pure leather couch was so comfortable and so inviting---

)) Something isn't right (( Gippal thought, as he pulled himself up. His mind was still a bit hazy from his nap. He turned off the television.

The room was too quiet.

Everything was too quiet.

Where was Rikku? Wasn't she just yelling about a minute ago---before he fell asleep?

Suddenly, a wave of concern enveloped him. He rushed towards the window and pulled over the golden velvet curtains. The sky was completely dark now and rain beated against the glass.

Oh crap.

"When did it start raining!" Gippal grumbled, throwing on his coat.

He could just imagine it now, Rikku crouching on the tree with her clothes all soaked, freezing her butt off.

Or it could be even worse…

What if she was hit by lightning?

What if she accidentally fell off the tree and broke her leg?

Or fractured her hip in 5 places?

And all this time he had been sleeping on his lazy butt and watching "The Matrix."

Whoa.

His mother was going to KILL him.

Gippal bolted out the door. The rain was crazy; Gippal felt like someone was pouring buckets, and buckets of water over his head. He really should have brought an umbrella, but his mind so completely absorbed in Rikku that he hadn't thought of it.

Where the hell was she?

The tree appeared to be completely bare. No sign of a girl on it. Gippal wiped the water out of his eyes and checked again.

Nobody.

Gippal began to search on the ground, desperately. Maybe she had fallen.

"RIKKU?" he shouted. "WHERE ARE YOU?"

Nothing on the ground except, wet grass and rain puddles, and some nasty looking-colored leaves.

Could she have mysteriously gotten down and went somewhere else?

Gippal sprinted towards his garden, searching every inch, he hurried towards his back yard yelling her name, he even checked in the pool house. None, no one…not even a sign.

)) WHERE DID SHE GO? ((

Suddenly, a new worry hit him.

What if she was…kidnapped?

Sure, the idea's absurd. Who would kidnap that annoying brat?

But then again…it could happen.

After all, she wasn't in the tree or on the ground or anywhere else around the house…and she couldn't have gotten INTO the house. Before he fell asleep, he made sure all the doors were locked.

Shit, Gippal was REALLY going to get slaughtered.

He raced into his house and picked up the phone, his fingers shaking as he dialed 911.

A feminine voice appeared, "Emergency line, how can I help you?"

"Uh---" Gippal's mind froze. "Well, see, I locked a girl outside."

There was a short pause. "Okay…?"

"Eh—she was, you know, stuck on a tree," Gippal said, uneasily. "I didn't help her get down. I just went back into the house, and locked the door and…um…I fell asleep," but he added quickly, "I didn't mean to, though. And when I went outside, she wasn't there…on the tree, I mean."

Okay, now he was sounding like a complete idiot. But he didn't really care; this was making him feel a bit better, a bit less guilty.

"Well, honey, did you check around the house?" the voice turned half-sympathetic-half-amuse. Gippal knew she wasn't taking him seriously. She probably thought he was just some kid pulling a prank on his friend.

"I did and she wasn't there," Gippal said.

"There's nothing we can really do about it, sweetie," the line said, "I mean, I could send some officers down to search for her, but you said you already did that…are you positive she wasn't there?"

"Yeah, I double-checked everywhere."

"Well, dear, she probably got down from that tree herself and went to a friend's house or something. That's common sense. She wouldn't have STAYED on that tree, not in this kind of weather, would she?"

"She could be kidnapped though…murdered RIGHT NOW!"

"You have quite an imagination. Let me remind you that we live in one of the best, high-classed, secured place in the world. I doubt something like that would happen. I suggest you go look for her again. But for now, there's nothing I can do and there are people out there who need help more than you---"

"NO! But Rikku---she could really be hurt or----"

"I don't think so, sweetie."

"Please, can't you send someone here? AnYONE?"

"No, I can't do that. Your call isn't really an emergency. I have to go now, honey. Bye bye."

"Wait, but---"

BEEP. The line went dead.

)) Oh thanks, Ms. 911, for being the most understanding bitch ever. ((

But what she said did make sense…maybe Rikku did go to a friend's house. He was going to call Yuna right away!

Fcking shit---what was her NUMBER!

"1-542…" Gippal racked his brain trying to remember. "What comes after that? A 6? No…maybe a 3?"

Lightning flashed and thunder burst out.

Gippal felt like slapping himself. He suddenly remembered. He had Yuna's phone number saved in his cell.

Duh!

He made a dash upstairs to his room, to call from his cell phone.

On his way, he continuously cursed himself out, for being such idiot over and over again.

"Rikku's probably already dead by now," Gippal thought, grimly. "And it would be ALL my fault." He tried to block out that thought but it just kept on poking his mind. What if Rikku wasn't at Yuna's? What if they never find her? I mean, Rikku and Yuna DID just meet today…

Wow, just picture it now…headlines on the front page of the newspaper, "TEENAGE MILLIONAIRE LEFT A GIRL TO DIE."

Boy, was he getting a Nobel Prize or what!

With a frustrated groan, Gippal kicked his bedroom door open.

There, sitting on his bed, was none other than the green-eyed-flower-kissing-tree-climbing-you-had-scared-to-death Rikku…

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My Words: OH! There she is, eh? I cannot believe I wrote so much! I broke my record…YAY! Plz review review! Also, if I don't update soon, don't get mad at me because I'm so busy lately!

See ya …

Lil Angel Rini

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