Like no other
A fic by midnight-show

Gippal watched, fascinated, as Yuna and Rikku lay on the grass, talking. Yuna rolled over onto her side, facing away from Rikku. She seemed deep in thought.

"Who do you like, Yunie…?" Rikku asked again, grinning widely and showing her teeth. "Do I know him?"

It was so tempting for Yuna to roll back over, face her cousin and say, 'I like a girl, not a boy,' but she didn't want the stereotypes… just yet. And the girl she liked… Yuna figured she'd have the decency to tell her first.

A smile crossed her face as she thought… a lie… would keep her away, wouldn't it? She giggled.

"Yeah, Rikku, you know him."

Rikku clambered up onto her feet. "Tell me, tell me, tell meee!"

Yuna looked up at the stars and smiled. "He's in this group now,"

Rikku grimaced, and muttered: "What a good hint…"

She looked around the group, and studied who exactly was there. Lenne was… missing? Gippal was talking to Wakka. 'Hm… Yunie couldn't like a guy who went out with someone already… so it can't be Wakka, Gippal or Shuyin…'

Yuna felt her eyelids getting heavy, and lying so comfortably on the grass wasn't helping her sudden tiredness. She sat up slowly, and got up onto her feet.

"Rikku!" She called, running over to her cousin, who was absently walking around. "What are you doing?"

Rikku stopped walking, and turned back to her cousin. "Well… you see…"

"When is Lenne coming back with the stuff?" Gippal complained, walking over to Paine. "The sooner we get pissed the better."

Paine shrugged, and remained silent for a moment. "I've never been under the influence of alcohol before."

"Wow…" Gippal laughed, slapping her on the back. "You are just as insane as when we parted ways. Sheesh!"

Paine glared at Gippal. The smile evaporated off his face. "Sorry…"

She nodded simply, and headed over to Rikku, who was standing by Yuna with her hands on her hips. "What's the matter Rikku?" She asked.

Rikku stared at Paine for a moment, and then smiled. "Trying to find out who Yunie likes…"

Yuna smiled and shook her head. "You will never, never know."

Rikku chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Oh, you're as clear as glass Yunie. I could-"

She stopped talking. Paine and Yuna looked at her with raised eyebrows. "What?" Paine said.

"I… don't believe you… Yunie…" Rikku whispered in a gruff voice.

"What?" Yuna asked, concerned. "What?"

"You either still like Seymour, or like him again?"

Everyone stopped what they were doing, and turned to Rikku. Lenne covered her mouth to stop herself from saying anything, Gippal scratched his head and Paine looked blank. Lulu and Wakka stopped their conversation and faced Rikku.

"Ummm… ehehehe…" Rikku began, but was sharply cut off by Yuna grabbing her arm and pinching it. "Owwww! Yunie!"

Yuna glared at her cousin. "How dare you go around with your so-called air-of-authority and make those statements!"

"Well…" Rikku gasped, pushing her cousin away from her. "You said you liked a guy from the group, so I just went around guessing… and Seymour is the only single one left, and you made an oath to yourself that you didn't like guys who weren't single."

Yuna stepped away from Rikku, the anger gone from her face. "Did… did…"

"Did what?" Rikku asked, scratching her chin in thought. "Did what?"

Yuna shook her head. She looked behind Rikku at all of her friends who had gathered, most of them looked doubtful or concerned.

"Nothing." She breathed.

"Yuna, wait!" Lenne called as the bemused girl turned away from the group and started to run back to the school grounds.

"Yunie! Come back!" Rikku called. "I didn't mean to!"

Yuna ran up the gravel path, her heart pounding. Her sides ached and she was short of breath. Why did Rikku have to bring up something that she knew was a very personal matter to her?

'It's not fair!' Yuna said to herself as she could see the school grounds up ahead. 'Why, her of all people, she knew that I never liked to talk about that thing!'

Back where the others were, Lulu stared at Rikku. "What did I do?" The younger girl whined, feeling naked under the older one's gaze.

"You know Yuna is sensitive about that, Rikku." She chided. "You of all people, her cousin, should respect that."

Gippal stepped up to the two. "Where's Paine? Why don't she go and talk to Yuna? They have a very tight friendship."

Paine glared at Gippal. She was useless at trying to cheer anyone up. But she nodded. "Alright, I'll try and talk to her."

Bluntly, Yuna wiped a tear away from her eyes, and closed the door to the dormitory. An indescribable feeling filled her, and all she wanted was a bit of sunlight. Something in her life that would make her smile.

She pulled all of the curtains in the dorm, giving her instant privacy. The other girls in this particular dorm – Lulu, Rikku, Paine and several others that she didn't know or hadn't bothered to be acquainted with – were either out on the field or at the dance.

She undid the laces on her boots, and slipped them off. She hastily stuffed them in the small but spacious cupboard by her bed, and closed it. She went over to her chest of drawers and pulled out a dark red skirt, that would go just above her knees, and a cream coloured shirt. She changed into those, and put on her feet a pair of white ankle socks. She splashed her face with a little water, and wiped it dry with a towel.

"Yuna?"

She froze. There was someone else in the dorm. I thought I had locked the door! Yuna said to herself, but then remembered that the teachers and other dorm members had their own keys. She finished wiping her face and left the bathroom. She walked back out to see Paine standing there, a very uneasy look on her face.

"Are you alright?" She asked immediately.

Yuna frowned. She shrugged her shoulders, and walked over to her bed. "Why wouldn't I be, Paine?"

Paine walked over to the door and closed it so the draft wouldn't come through. "Well… I was worried because no-one normally runs off from their friends, tears running down their face…"

Yuna smiled and nodded. "You're right, Paine. I'm not very good at hiding my feelings, am I?"

Paine grinned. "No, I don't suppose so."

Yuna sat on the edge of her bed and looked at her friend. "Why are you up here, the others would be having a great time by now!"

"Like I said before," Paine said, a little irritated at Yuna's resistance. "I was worried about you."

Yuna grinned. "I knew that. But… I thought you'd rather be down there than up here with silly old me."

Paine laughed, and lay down on her bed. "I'd rather be up here with silly old you than down there with them. I don't drink alcohol."

Yuna turned to Paine, and said in an almost hollow voice, "It's in the water."

Paine nodded. "So Lulu told me."

Yuna stared at the ceiling, and hummed the hymn. "No-one knows my secret." She said.

Paine sat up and looked at her. "Your secret?"

Yuna lifted herself up off the bed and walked over to the windows that overlooked the valley. "If anyone knew about it, then…"

"You could tell me…" Paine said uneasily. "You can trust me."

Yuna whipped around, her eyes blazing. "I can't!" She exclaimed. "Don't you understand, I would be the centre of discrimination and doomed to a friendless life!"

Paine was shocked by the quiet girl's outburst. Yuna was usually a quiet, unspoken girl, but now it seemed she was showing her other side.

Violence seeped through the air. It felt different in the dormitory. Paine stepped away from her friend, who was glaring at her, and towards the door. In several quick strides Yuna had run across the dorm and jumped at Paine, tackling her to the ground. Paine yelled in shock and hit the floor hard, the high summoner's daughter on top of her, and her hands were quick to fasten around Paine's neck.

"Yuna—"

"You can't help me!" Yuna screamed, digging her fingernails into the side of Paine's neck. "People who are like I am are stereotyped!"

Paine's arms moved from her side to Yuna's waist. She grabbed onto Yuna and pushed her back. Yuna fell onto the floor with a gasp. Paine got up and crawled over to her. "Yuna?"

She didn't answer. Her eyes were open and she wasn't moving. Her breath came in short puffs, and she lay at a painful angle.

"I don't- need your help, Paine." She murmured, sitting up slowly. "You don't know me as well as you'd like to think."

Paine smirked, and rubbed her head. "No, but I do know something."

"Really?" Yuna asked with a laugh, not moving from her place on the floor. "And what's that?"

Paine thought a moment. If she told Yuna that she knew, maybe Yuna would hate her more? She pondered whether or not she would say.

"See?" Yuna said smugly. "You don't-"

Paine looked over the stunned girl, and ran a hand through her ruffled hair. Slowly, she leant forward so her lips could meet Yuna's.

Her mind was blurred, but one thing stood clear in Yuna's mind; this was what she wanted. But she had no idea how Paine knew. Did Paine like Yuna as much as Yuna did Paine?

There! Sorry it took so long to update, and I don't really have an excuse either. I have had this written up for a while, but I forgot to update it. Please let me know what you think!