My Oh My
'The Mental Whirlpool'
Kairi awoke to the sound of water running and fabric rustling. It was all very far away, almost too far away for her sleep-fogged mind to really process. It wasn't that she hadn't slept well that previous night. No, Kairi actually believed that the futon she was sprawled across at that particular moment in time was the most comfortable thing she'd ever slept on in her life. But what was actually the case was that she was so incredibly well-rested, having spent the first night in two years not waking up to something like...
She shook her head, cleared her thoughts, and opened her eyes. Enough of that. She was on a new page, remember?
Clambering to her feet, Kairi peered around the small living room of the apartment. It was sparsely furnished, not holding much other than an oversized black leather loveseat and two matching chairs. As she pattered over towards the bathroom, Kairi couldn't help but be amused to find that the coffee and end tables were entirely made of glass. ...Larxene was so not a kid person.
Knocking gently on the door, Kairi called out, "Larxene? You there?"
From behind the closed bathroom door, there came a sound of the water being shut off, followed by the steady drip, drip, dripping of the last of the shower water spouting from the showerhead. The curtain was pulled back, wet feet hit the tile floor and-
"Oh Kairi! Good, you're awake!"
Kairi blinked and turned around stupidly to find Larxene standing right behind her, a spatula clutched in one hand, a frying pan in the other. ...Wha?
"Larxene? But... Eh? If you're out here, than who's in?"
"Do you know how to make omelets?" Larxene asked. "More importantly, do you even like omelets? Honestly, I'm a horrible cook. There's bread for toast if you want some though." Linking her right arm with Kairi's left one, Larxene easily guided the smaller (and very confused, might I add) girl around the bend and into the cozy kitchenette, swinging open the refrigerator door and setting Kairi right in front of it while she continued to prattle on.
"There's raspberry jam for toast, if you want some. Eww, I don't really like raspberries, but they were giving out free samples at some store or another. Man, now I know why it was free, right? Haha, no one in their right mind would by that stuff! So don't eat it! And remind me to pitch it, would you?"
The opening of a door, the quiet scuttle of feet across the floor, hastily moving towards the apartment door. Try as she might, Kairi couldn't get a glimpse of anything other than the sad interior of a rather barren fridge. Larxene had her pinned. Dammit.
"And there's syrup, eggs, carrots, broccoli, leftover macaroni and cheese... Then again, I don't think you can really use mac and cheese to make a half decent breakfast food. But then again, lots of people like eating dinner foods for breakfast. I just think it's weird though. Way, way weird. Like those pizza bagel things, remember? 'Pizza in the morning, pizza in the evening, pizza at suppertime!' Now that was a lame product. What crack-head came up with that idea?"
Another opening of a door, this time followed by a quiet and conclusive shutting sound, right after which Larxene hastily moved away from Kairi and closed the door to the refrigerator. She was entirely aware of the incredulous look she was receiving from the auburn-haired girl at that moment, but she simply acted as though nothing were out of the ordinary.
"Then again, there are people who don't eat breakfast at all," Larxene added, a careful tinge to her voice. "Are you one of those people, Kairi?"
Both stood in silence for a moment, Kairi wandering around her own head, deep in thought. What was all that about? I know there was someone else in here, but why would Larxene care if I saw them or not? Does she not trust me? How did that weird person even get in here in the first place? Does Larxene already have a roommate she just doesn't want me to know about?
Finally, Kairi simply shook her head slightly.
"No, I like breakfast. It's the most important meal of the day, you know. It can really mess up your entire day if you don't eat it."
At this, Larxene seemed to ease up a bit and a familiar smirk settled across her face as she set the spatula and the pan back on the counter top. Patting Kairi on the head, Larxene chuckled and briskly walked out of the kitchen area once more.
"I wouldn't know. I usually skip breakfast."
"...Oh."
Somehow, the two of them went about their days as though nothing were out of the ordinary. Larxene's business was just that, Kairi concluded. Larxene's business. Not Kairi's and not anybody else's. If Larxene wanted to have strangers over at her apartment in the middle of the night, she was certainly allowed to do so. Kairi was just a guest, nothing more, and it was more than nice enough of Larxene to allow her to stay in the first place. ...Yes? Good? Good.
But somehow, both of them managed to show up at the apartment at roughly the same mid-afternoon time frame, right before they were both to be shuffled off to the driving improvement clinic. Larxene jostled the door open with one arm, jabbering about Leon, crazy customers, and half-price sales ("If you're interested, Kairi") the Emporium was holding. Kairi, meanwhile, was juggling three bags of groceries she'd picked up on her way home from the nail salon.
It wasn't Kairi's fault, really. She just couldn't stand to see a refrigerator so sad and empty like that. After all, Sora had always ensured that their condo never run out of a lifetime supply of junk food. Kairi was used to shopping for good, cheap, and healthy food.
"But really, thanks for picking up food, hon. Do you have the receipt? I can pay you back." No sooner had Larxene stepped through the door did she begin to fish around in her purse for her wallet while Kairi wobbled over towards the kitchenette, still balancing the third bag precariously between the other two.
"It's no problem, seriously! Uh, just thanks for letting me stay and all!" came Kairi's muffled response. Letting out a deep sigh of relief, she plopped the three grocery bags on the little island counter before plopping herself down on one of the several stools seated around it. Her mind was still running mile-a-minute, falling into that old pattern of inspecting her surroundings and wondering what could be cleaned, rearranged, and redecorated. ...Dammit, I'll never get out of the mode of living with two guys.
But Larxene didn't give her much time for that, swinging herself up onto a stool beside Kairi. The simple action managed to trigger the one question that had been on Kairi's mind since the day before, when Larxene had first said she could stay with her. That question was 'Why the hell are you letting me stay with you?' And really, it was a very good question indeed. But... for some reason, Kairi didn't feel like asking it. It was right there, right behind her lips begging to burst out into the open, but with one look at Larxene, Kairi decided it'd be best not to ask.
Larxene's business was her own, remember? If she wanted fifty million strangers living with her, it was okay by Kairi. None of my business, none of my business, none of my business. ...So instead, she settled for something else.
"Sooo... I know nothing about you."
Larxene raised an eyebrow and lightheartedly responded with, "Really? I know nothing about you either. Small world."
"Maybe... we could ask each other questions or something?" Kairi glanced at the clock above the stove. Good. They still had almost an hour to make it to the clinic. They'd at least have time to try and fill in some of the blank spaces, right? ...Kairi could only hope.
"Mm." Tapping one finger lightly against her chin, Larxene rifled through her mental list of conversation-starting questions. It was filed right past the back pick-up lines, for those of you who might be interested. "...Okay. What's one thing you've always wanted to do?"
"..." It was then Kairi's turn to think, and if there was one thing that Larxene and Kairi had in common, it was their process of thinking. While Larxene would file through questions, dirty jokes, and her mental slang dictionary, Kairi would file through old book titles, road maps, and music lyrics, looking for something she'd always wanted to do. And finally she came across a little old something she'd almost forgotten about.
But not quite.
"You remember those books... the Amazing Ramona Quimpy or whatever?"
"Ramona Quimby. Age eight? Yeah, what about 'em?"
"Remember how she wanted to squeeze an entire bottle of toothpaste? Like, get a brand new tube of toothpaste and just squirt it everywhere?"
"...I find it really disturbing that you remember that. So we're on the same page here and all. It's just weird."
"Yeah, well. That's what I've always wanted to do. Ever since I read that."
"Really?"
"Yep."
"...Cool."
x x x
There is a thing commonly referred to as a stream of consciousness. This stream is often responsible for many things, such as blank stares, bizarre dreams, and confusing pieces of literature. Everyone has a stream like this. In some people, it's more of a river. In some, it's more of a drain pipe. Any way you look at it, everyone has this flow of consciousness, this pattern in which the mind works and links one thing to another, stacking up and up, clicking together with a click, click, click.
Sort of like Legos. You know. Those little plastic multi-colored bricks. The choking hazards? Yeah. Those are the ones.
Yuffie was pondering all of this while waiting for the next load of laundry to finish. 'Wash dark colors separately in cool water before use. Light colors in warm water. No bleach. Tumble dry.' And the dryer she was perched upon was indeed doing its job of tumble drying. ...Very well. A whole lot of tumbling in fact. Yuffie felt as though she was going to be tossed from the top of the stupid thing at any given second.
But back to the Legos which plagued Yuffie's mind. She couldn't help but let her mind wander back to a conversation she'd had some time long ago. ...Some time like... back in high school.
"Hey, I haven't seen you in forever!"
"I know! Man, my summer was such a total drag."
"Seriously? Well I had a totally wicked time! I went to concerts, saw tons of movies, went out with fifteen different guys... It was so sweet."
"Oh hey, did you ever buy that... uh... that movie?"
"What movie?"
"You know, the one with the elf? ...Legolas? Oh hey, spit that out! That's cinnamon gum! It causes cancer!"
"Legos cause cancer? WHAT!"
"Huh? No! What the?"
Like a river that went on and on, the bricks would build up and up, one piling on top of another, one individual atom of water rushing and whirling right along with the rest. Merry-go-rounds, roller-coasters, motorcycles, and the Hot Wheels set belonging to the five year old boy from next door. The same little boy obsessed with King Kong, Godzilla, and anything and everything that results in mass destruction. The same little boy who will one day buy a chemistry set, terrify his parents, and watch in tears as they pack up the hazmat and test tubes, only to lock it away in a foot locker forever and ever.
Yes, that little boy will grow up to go to Destati High. He will try out for the blitzball team just because he wants to prove he's not a total geek. He'll blow the world away, he'll be offered a position as team captain and the school will stand with their mouths dangling open as he simply quirks his lips in a smile and walks away. He'll go to college, he'll major in education and chemistry, and he'll stand in front of a classroom of bums who only take the course because they have to. Perhaps it will dawn on him that his parents locked up the chemistry set not because they feared he would burn the house down, but simply because they worried about his mental health at succumbing to such a boring subject of specialization.
After realizing that education was quite possibly the worst path for him in his adult life (he will have never cared for the stuff at all, mind you, so why will it have changed?) he'll strike off on his own. Up and leave the school, no notice, no word, no farewell. Just gone like so many things are the moment after you open your eyes, having closed them for half a split second.
Much like the roller-coaster, the thrill of the drop and the spin of the world gone as you squeeze your eyes shut and pray to anyone you might hold faith in that you not die and that the track not break and that the bar stay secure and that the and that the and that the...
Much like the merry-go-round and much like the toy cars. They're the things of childhood and that too is gone in a flash. Just like this boy who will grow up just as all boys grow up.
He'll have never played with Legos though. Why build when you can destroy?
...Thankfully, you've managed to scramble your way through the muddled thoughts of the mind of Yuffie. It's a hard road, but don't worry. You're now set for the rest of your life. To tie this all into the story at hand, Yuffie hated her stream of consciousness. Quite sad, really. But unavoidably true. For it was her stream of consciousness that made the following events take place...
The little silver bells hanging from the front of the dry-cleaners jingled. Obediently, Yuffie hopped off her post from on top of the dryer and scurries towards the front of the cleaner's, ready to take up a new mound of clothing, tag it, bag it, and set it on a rack for later cleaning fun. Complete with a beautiful 'We Love Our Customers!' coat-hanger.
She was still knee-deep in thought about the Lego conversation from years ago when voices -two of them- prickled and poked irritably at her waking conscious mind and demanded attention.
"Yuffie!"
"Oh, Yuffie!"
"Yuffie!"
One from the side, one from the front, and one from the way, way back of the dry cleaners. What the..!
"EH? WHAT!"
The elderly Mr. Tigi stared back at her with a bored expression on his face. He was a short, balding little fellow, with a head that was significantly two sizes too large for his body. ...Not figuratively speaking, either. Mr. Tigi was a very humble old man. He just happened to have a rather bulbous cranium. If you poked it just right, perhaps it would bobble around in little jerky motions while an electronic speaker said some phony recorded phrases such as, "Have a nice day!" or "Here, let me starch your collar!"
Into Yuffie's arms he thrust three articles of clothing, small, thin, and very soft.
The boy who came bumbling towards the front of the dry-cleaners at that moment seemed rather frazzled looking. No wonder. While Mr. Tigi's face was abnormally large, Irvine's face was covered with powder-white soap flakes. ...Irvine was supposed to only have been hired there for a few months while he was studying abroad. ...That was three years ago. ...No one really knew anything about the whole ordeal. But no one really cared either.
"Yuffie. You left a box of soap... Open. Again." Crossing his eyes and gagging several times, poor Irvine coughed, hacked, and choked amidst the cloud of dusty soap particles that hovered around him. "Are you trying to KILL me!"
"No?"
And the girl on the other side of the counter, cocking her head to the side and smiling. She smiled, yes, but her eyes were clearly confused. Very, very confused.
"...Naminé?" Yuffie blinked and did a classic double-take, her jaw dropping open as she gaped at the younger girl who waved cheerfully at her.
"Hi there! I didn't know you worked here!"
"I don't. ...Wait, I mean, I do. ...Sorry. I'm not really concentrating too well today, I-"
"YU-acckkhaaa-FFIE! Ackha, ackha!"
"Irvine? Do you have asthma?"
"Keh... ackha! NO!"
"Then get off the dirty floor, take these, put them in the back, and then wash the dirty floor, m'kay?" Yuffie beamed, releasing her hold on Naminé's clothes and dropping them into poor Irvine's arms, despite his protests and curses (which, mind you, were so interrupted by chokes and coughs that they were nearly inaudible. ...Unrecognizable. Whichever. Both.)
"You sure he's alright?" Naminé peered warily around the taller girl, watching as the bumbling mass of clothing (for the sake of making your life easier, we'll just remember he's called Irvine, okay?) scuttled off towards the back of the cleaners.
"Irvine? Hah! He's fiiine. The only thing he suffers from is an ego the size of a... big... Lego castle." Yuffie said the words, she heard herself say the words, and she wondered what exactly the hell was up. Then she remembered the merry-go-round, the Lego cancer, and the little destructive boy-wonder. ...She could have took the time and effort to try and explain it to Naminé...
"Am I missing something with the Legos there?"
"Not much, actually." Or she could just let the issue drop. And Yuffie did just that. Naminé blinked a few times, watching as Yuffie's mouth twitched into a small pout, the other girl seemingly lost in thought or on such strong medication that holding a simple conversation was deemed absolutely impossible.
"Sooo, looking forward to getting your license back? Last clinic coming up today."
"I can't wait. Though honestly, I don't even get why we all got 'em revoked in the first place. I mean, you see all these things on TV, like 'Wild Cop Chases' or something, and seriously. None of us are like those guys. Why'd we get our dumb licenses revoked? All those guys got was... uh..."
"Lots of them ended up dead."
"Yeah, yeah. Well. That's definitely not the point here."
"Hey, you remember those other two girls we sat with at the bus stop? Kairi and Larxene?"
"Yeah. What about 'em?"
"...Well..." Naminé's voice took on a thoughtful tone as she twined her slender fingers through long strands of blonde hair. She tried to ignore the way Mr. Tigi was looking at her, really she did. But that little old guy was just kind creepy. She couldn't really see his beady little eyes too well through all the folds of pale skin, so instead she simply turned her back slightly towards him, focusing entirely on Yuffie as she continued quietly, "I mean, both of them like girls, right?"
"...Uh. ...Oh...kaaay."
"Yeah. Well. Um... Do you think they're...? You know...?"
"..."
"..." Naminé huffed out a little sigh, lowering her voice way down to a whisper so had not to be heard by the eerie Mr. Tigi. "Do you think they're a couple?" No sooner had the words popped out of her mouth did Naminé clap a hand over her mouth before hissing, "Oh man, I really don't mean to sound like such a nosy little snob! Really, I'm not! I just..."
Apparently, Yuffie didn't care whether or not Naminé was a nosy snob or not. Truth be told, she was actually nearly bouncing around the cleaners with curiousity, eyes wide and asking, "What, what? Did you see them... Eww, did you see them kissing or something?"
"...Uh, no. But... I saw them both walk out of the same apartment building..."
"AHAH!" There was the clue!
"What, what?" Clearly Naminé failed to see that clue.
"They're totally seeing each other. ...Ewwww." Too bad for Naminé, Yuffie's mind was already reeling forward, zipping through different scenarios she'd been told were heinous and wrong. Weird, crazy, bizarre, unnatural...?
Drawing her bottom lip into a pout, Naminé scowled and snapped, "Will you stop that? What makes you think they're together? I mean... You know. ...Not that I care."
"...Naminé. If I walked out of the same apartment as a boy and was rather buddy-buddy, touchy-feeling, hearts and bubbles and whatever... Wouldn't just be a smidge suspicious?"
"...Well... I suppose..."
"I knew they were into each other."
Both Yuffie and Naminé fell silent as a weird raspy noise finally penetrated their conversation. Blinking, Yuffie glanced over her shoulder to find the peculiar Mr. Tigi hovering only inches away. Blinking again, Yuffie scuttled forward a few steps, shuddering unconsciously as Mr. Tigi simply grinned toothily as stalked off towards the back of the building.
"..."
"..."
"...Um. Hey, sorry for keeping you from work." Naminé smiled slightly, crossing her arms and rubbing them with her hands. Weird to be cold in the middle of spring, but some people have low body temperatures. Like alligators. ...But Naminé doesn't seem like an alligator.
"Huh? Oh, don't apologize! Hehehe, I love getting paid for doing nothing! ...Come to think of it, that's usually what happens all the time, so this is no big deal." Clearly, between Yuffie and Naminé, neither could stay focused on any one thing for any particularly long span of time, for Yuffie was looking on at Naminé who's mind was clearly not in the little store front of a discount dry cleaners. Waving a hand in front of the other girl's empty eyes, Yuffie whistled and asked, "You there?"
"Yeah! Sorry, sorry!"
The two stood silent for another few minutes for it felt like there was something left unsaid. Neither could really put a finger on it, almost as though they were bumbling around in the dark, blindfold tied around their eyes and a tail grasped in one hand to pin on the donkey. ...Once again, that was just the way Yuffie thought of it. Realistically speaking, Naminé and Yuffie were just experiencing an awkward silence. Awkward silences are an interesting breed of creature, really.
Seemingly out of the blue, Yuffie smirked and jabbed Naminé in the elbow, raising her eyebrows and giggling. "Hey, you afraid of Larxene and Kairi?"
"What! No! Of course not!"
She continued to poke her jokingly and as Naminé squirmed to get away, she couldn't help but be reminded of that girl, Larxene, poking and prodding her while she was trying to draw that day under the umbrella, under the rain, under the open sky. The other girl just wouldn't go away.
Sort of like Yuffie just wouldn't go away. But it was a different kind of not-going-away-ness. Yet another thing Naminé couldn't seem to grasp entirely.
Meanwhile, Yuffie went on with her teasing. "Afraid the scary lezzies are gonna come hunt you out in the dark and make you one of their mindless soldiers?"
"No, I never said that!" Naminé whined, batting Yuffie's hand away determinedly. It was another nagging feeling she felt in the back of her head that something was just off about the whole situation. This time, it wasn't linked to the obnoxious presence of Mr. Tigi. It was just something about... "Yuffie..."
"What? I was only kidding."
"I know but..." Naminé sighed and shook her head slightly, tucking her hands in the pockets of her sundress and scuffing on sandal-clad foot against the still dirty tile of the floor. "...Nevermind. ...I'll see you later, okay?"
"Sure thing!"
x x x
I will take but a moment of your time to tell you one very important, critical piece of information.
Everything you have yet to read and everything you have already read up to this point may or may not be true. But it all happened. In this particular realm. What I'm trying to convey is that in the place where I'm telling you this tale from, these things happened. Someone really did just shout "Sleep with her!" and someone really did just mutter "What the hell..?" But maybe they didn't happen in that order.
Maybe what you've read has just been a collection of moments and histories of the entire human race, gathered from around the world. Someone has said these words before, it is all a true story, but much like a poorly written tabloid, there are holes. And there are holes because maybe, just maybe, these events are individual little islands that are in no way related.
Assuming that's the case, the people previously referred to as Yuffie and Kairi may not truly be Yuffie and Kairi. Yuffie could be made up of thousands of people. Like Sara, Amy, Tina, Jen, and maybe even Jack. Kairi could be anyone ranging from Terry to Tom and really, no one knows.
...These were Yuffie's thoughts. (I had you going as the narrator for a while there, didn't I? Hohoho.) Seriously though, Yuffie was in fact pondering all this and more as she sat across from Naminé in a dimly lit little house located precisely-
Well... we've yet to reach that part of the story. Sadly, you'll have to wait just a bit longer. But hang in with Yuffie for a moment. Stream of consciousness, remember?
Sitting at a collapsible card table on a collapsible lawn chair in a dark and eerie kitchen, Yuffie blinked, cleared her eyes, and listened to the sounds. Clack, clack, clack. A pause. Shhhhck. Clack, clack, clack. And repeated. Cucumber fresh air and tomato-basil perfume. Someone a ways away and someone else very, very close. But not much of a someone. These were the things that Yuffie felt and these were the things that unnerved her just the slightest wee bit. Almost as much as certain other things...
"So like... I ran into Larxene today at the supermarket..." Yuffie shot off into the seemingly empty and anxious air, trying to make conversation.
"Oh, did you?" Sure enough, Naminé appeared not moments later, carrying with her a small plate of vegetables and dip and setting in on the card table before seating herself across from Yuffie.
Remember the holes Yuffie was thinking about? Yes. Those ones.
Wondering how Yuffie ended up sitting across from Naminé in front of a veggie platter?
It's all about the holes, children.
"Yeah. She was buying Kairi toothpaste." The way Yuffie said it, she could've easily said 'she was buying Kairi a wedding ring.' Intriguing, Naminé noted. But she was a clever girl and chose to say nothing. Instead, the blonde girl simply held a carrot between two fingers, carefully dunking it into the ranch dip at the center of the platter before bringing it to her mouth, crunching, and then chewing thoughtfully.
Swallowing, Naminé simply said, "Everyone needs toothpaste."
"But she was just so smug about it! I mean... Ugh. And I asked her, you know, if her and Kairi were 'together' and everything. Just because, you know, we'd been talking about it earlier. You and me, I mean. And so I figured, why not find out the one-hundred-percent truth, right? So I mean, I asked her and she just got all... It was like she was bragging! Like she was trying to piss me off!" Yuffie paused and took a moment for herself, taking a deep breath, taking a piece of celery, dunking it forcefully into the dip and tossing it into her mouth. Munch, crunch, swallow, and she continued right along.
"And I mean, it's not like I honestly care or anything! What is up with those guys? Why do they think I care if they're weird like that? It's not like it concerns me or anything. And what's more is..." Yuffie trailed off, noticing that Naminé neither seemed stimulated nor enthralled by the conversation. "Hey, you okay?" she asked warily.
Naminé cocked her head to the side slightly, her expression blank. After a moment of thoughtful silence, she asked, "Have you ever met someone and felt that you could trust them? Like... without even knowing them, just felt this click? Sort of... 'I have to tell this person everything.' Have you ever felt that?"
Yuffie frowned slightly, her brows furrowing together as she thought back on the countless people she'd met. Really, she hadn't known anyone like that through high school. At least, no one who's name she could remember. There'd been Tifa and Aerith... Both of them were nice, but there'd never been a 'click' like Naminé had described. But there'd been that girl... What was her name?
"I don't think so. I mean, no one really comes to mind or anything." Yuffie thought for another brief moment before nodding twice in affirmation. Nope. There wasn't any clickage in Yuffie's memory.
"Really?" Naminé blinked, a carrot piece held between two fingers, hovering over the dip like a bird of prey. Poor dip. It didn't stand a chance against two hungry girls. "The weird thing about it all is that I've heard about it. The click, you know. It's not like... romantic or anything. You get what I'm saying, right?"
Yuffie nodded.
"Because I feel that click with you."
Yuffie blinked.
"I don't know why." After this, Naminé let out a little sigh, her mouth puckering into a soft frown as she continued quietly. "Despite your being the most egotistical, self-centered, loudmouthed and homophobic person I've ever met, I really feel like I could tell you anything."
"HEY! What about Larxene, huh!" Yuffie's expression was some vicious combination of a pout and a glare, all rolled into one. ...Not particularly menacing, but still none too happy.
Naminé, however, simply giggled and shook her head, saying, "No, Larxene's not a homophobe, I don't think. I do think she's more egotistical and self-centered than you, maybe. But I don't know..."
"...Um, hello? What about the loudmouth part, huh?" Yuffie pressed.
Naminé just smiled and shook her head, holding up both hands in front of her defensively. "I think I'll plead the fifth on that one," she said, much to poor Yuffie's dismay. Once the muttered curses and threats coming from the older girl had died down, Naminé cleared her throat, and looked Yuffie straight in the eye, continuing her explanation.
"So you see, the thing is... I haven't really lived here long. I just moved because my old real estate agency went bankrupt and this was the closest place with an opening. I don't know anybody and I've got no one to really talk to. Except for this one... 'person'..."
"A boyfriend?"
"No."
"...A gi... a gir.. giiiirrr..."
"Girlfriend? No."
"Phew."
Rolling her eyes, Naminé let out a bigger, deeper sigh, seemingly attempting to just kick all the old air out of her lungs and start again. But the stuffy air in the room allowed for no such feeling of rebirth and Naminé was still stuck swallowing stale oxygen. Even then, nothing could really be done to ease the blow her next words had on Yuffie, who was, at that particular moment, attempting to eat a piece of celery without the use of her hands. A rather amusing sight, really. But I digress.
"I think I might be going crazy."
Yuffie blinked and raised an eyebrow.
"I hear voices..."
Yuffie's eyes widened slightly and the celery stick stopped edging further into her mouth.
"And..." Naminé trailed off, her gaze fixated on the surface of the cheap card table. For half a moment, silence filled the entire room. A thick silence, a stifling silence. The kind of silence that would make people burst into fits of nervous laughter were it not for the fact that it was just so danged uncomfortable.
And then the silence ended.
"Yuffie, right?"
It came from behind and Yuffie turned to see who had snuck up on her and Naminé.
No one was there.
But the voice sounded an awful lot like...
...Bells?
Yuffie turned back around in her seat, celery stick still hanging from her mouth. But once she turned back around... Well... Let's just say the dear old celery still fell right out of her mouth at the precise moment her jaw dropped open in shock.
"Hi there, Yuffie! I'm Cloud!"
(x) (x) (x)
I was going to put another scene in here annnd then I didn't. XD Sorry all. It just won't fit in quite yet. Next chapter maybe. Probably the chapter after that, most likely. So sorry for the short chapter, but ah well. What're you gonna do, right?
...And Mr. Tigi is my masterpiece. Hehehe. That's about all.
